Dan Snow ‘worked the phones’ in desperate hunt for rare shark’s head

Dan Snow “worked the phones” on Monday in his search for the head, tail and fin of a rare shark that washed up in Hampshire over the weekend.

The historian told The Telegraph that he had spent the day calling local fishermen and fishing enthusiasts in a bid to try and get whoever took the head to come forward and return it.

Alongside scientists from the London Zoological Society, Mr Snow has been appealing to whoever took the head because it contains valuable information about the species and environment it lives in.

The extremely rare smalltooth sand tiger was discovered dead on Lepe Beach in Hampshire on Saturday morning, near where Mr Snow lives, and is believed to be the first of its species to be found in British waters.

Locals guarded the shark throughout the day until scientists could collect the 6ft specimen, but under cover of darkness that night its head, tail and fin were removed.

The rest of its body is being safely stored in a farmer’s fridge until scientists from the London Zoological Society collect it on Tuesday.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Snow said: “I’ve been working the phones and trying to get people to come forward.

“I’m telling them there’s no danger of a rebuke” he explained. “It’s all fine but the scientists would love to see it.

“It’s bound to be one of the many fishing enthusiasts in these parts”, he added.

Smalltooth sand tigers, whose range in the Northeast Atlantic usually only reaches the top of the Bay of Biscay, are listed as a Globally Vulnerable species, although it is listed as Critically Endangered in the Mediterranean and in European waters.

However, while listed as a Prohibited Species in the Mediterranean, smalltooth sand tigers are not protected in UK waters, nor are they listed under the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. As such the carcass of the animal is not protected in the UK.

Dr Ben Garrod, Prof of Evolutionary Biology at the University of East Anglia, explained that due to the position sharks take in the food chain, you can gather valuable information on how water pollutants and climate change are affecting marine life.

“Pollution and sewage will have a massive detrimental impact which is easy to see in shellfish and smaller species.

“But when toxins build up across the food chain you get something called bioaccumulation.

“Pollutants build up in sardines and then in bass, and then in something that eats a bass, and then eventually concentration builds. It takes years to build up.

“So again this one shark washing up is such an iconic piece of the puzzle, it’s not just one shark.

“It’s why unexpected events like this are so important and highlight why it’s really important to work alongside the scientist community rather than deprive us of really interesting data.”