Last Ice Age has shaped sharks across Europe

Press release issued: 12 November 2014 Shark populations in the Mediterranean are highly divided, an international team of scientists, led by Dr Andrew Griffiths of the University of Bristol, has shown. Many previous studies on sharks suggest they move over large distances. But catsharks in the Mediterranean Sea appear to move and migrate much less, as revealed by this study. This could have important implications for conserving and managing sharks more widely, suggesting they may be more vulnerable to over-fishing than previously thought. The study, published in the new journal Royal Society Open Science, used genetic techniques to investigate the population structure of the small-spotted shark, Scyliorhinus canicula . The species is common throughout Europe and has been eaten since ancient times, as documented in Roman mosaics. In the UK anglers catch it for sport and it can often be seen in rock pools at low tide.