![\"Large](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_286479284-47bd.jpg\")
\n\t\tExpert says \u2018just becuase we don\u2019t see them doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not there\u2019 (Picture: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tExpert says \u2018just becuase we don\u2019t see them doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not there\u2019 (Picture: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n
New research<\/a> shows that great white sharks<\/a> are moving further north than ever before.\u00a0<\/p>\n Experts say we may start seeing more hammerheads in UK waters \u2013 joining great whites, which are \u2018already here\u2019.<\/p>\n Two bold carnivores<\/a> being tracked by scientists at OCEARCH have travelled towards the northern tip of Newfoundland, off the eastern coast of North America.<\/p>\n The discovery comes just days after lifeguards had to ask people to get out of the water in Jersey after a reported sighting<\/a> of a large shark, reportedly between 10 and 12ft, off St Ouen\u2019s Bay on August 1.<\/p>\n Each summer<\/a>, around 2,000 great whites are predicted to migrate from the North Atlantic<\/a> to feed in the Atlantic Canadian waters, due to the plentiful food sources and protection efforts which scientists say are seeing numbers increase.\u00a0<\/p>\n A nine-foot male great white called Quint has been moving north in the Strait of Belle Isle since July 26, while 10ft female Bella was tracked in the area on June 29.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n Data scientist John Tyminiki says that while great white numbers dwindled between 1970 and 1990, this could be an example of the population \u2018rebuilding\u2019 and \u2018expanding their range\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t However, it\u2019s not all positive.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, the move is part of a wider trend which sees the animals moving towards the North (or South) poles, seeking their preferred temperatures in the face of climate change<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018As the seas warm, things start to migrate,\u2019 says Tom \u2018The Blowfish\u2019 Hird<\/a>, a marine scientist and shark expert (and, in his words, the world\u2019s only heavy metal biologist).<\/p>\n \u2018A shark who used to live at however many degrees of latitude can\u2019t stay there anymore because it\u2019s too hot<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018So they need to move somewhere typically cooler that\u2019s now increased to the temperature they like.\u2019<\/p>\n The reason why great white sharks don\u2019t live permanently in UK seas has long been a mystery to scientists<\/a>.<\/p>\n The species looks for water between 12 and 24 degrees Celsius, and seas on the southern coast typically range from eight to 20 degrees. What\u2019s more, the country has a strong grey seal population, one of their main food sources.<\/p>\n However, \u2018just because we haven\u2019t seen them, doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not here already,\u2019 says Shark Trust ambassador and presenter<\/a> of All The Sharks on Netflix<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018We live on a very small island. It\u2019s easy for a great white to swim around in a matter of days.<\/p>\n \u2018There\u2019s no requirement for them to stick in one area, which I believe is why they aren\u2019t usually spotted by scuba divers or picked up by fishing vessels.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018They\u2019re always on the move, and they have the biology to withstand our seas. The Mediterranean<\/a> is just a spit and a cough away \u2013 certainly, if you\u2019re a shark, it\u2019s very close by.\u2019<\/p>\n Tom says that from a nutrition perspective, it\u2019s not only the seals that may attract great whites<\/a> to UK waters. \u2018When they\u2019re younger, they feed on tuna, and there\u2019s lots of those on UK coasts.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s like humans stopping off at a service station. The visits are few and fleeting \u2013 they come in, they look, and they go \u2013 but we do have great whites in British waters.\u2019<\/p>\n Tom says that while right now the UK coasts are at an optimal condition for great whites, as climate change worsens and the sea temperature increases, the odds of seeing a great white will fall as they will eventually go even further north.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s going to be the Inuit and the Sami up in Norway<\/a> that will start seeing great whites settling.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019ve seen untagged great whites swim from South Africa<\/a> all the way to Australia<\/a> so they can do massive migrations.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t Instead, Tom predicts that tropical species will start to migrate to UK waters, while the 20 native shark species will move on and look for cooler spots.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Hammerheads might start moving in,\u2019 he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018They make these big open ocean migrations<\/a>. Their big wide head allows for incredible GPS as they have these little sensory dots that allow them to detect the Earth\u2019s electromagnetic field, as well as the bioelectricity of life hiding under the sand.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Our country sits on quite a shallow continental shelf; our seas are shallower, so these sensors would be really helpful for them in UK waters.\u2019<\/p>\n Though Tom would be excited to see more hammerheads in UK waters, it would be bad news for the ecosystem.<\/p>\n \u2018When we talk about sharks accessing new areas, the phrasing sounds like it\u2019s good, like they are expanding. Actually, what\u2019s happening is they\u2019re being forced out of their true habitats into new ones.<\/p>\n \u2018If a shark<\/a> is being displaced from tropical to temperate, like hammerheads, and temperate species are being displaced to polar, like great whites, then the polar species have nowhere to go.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s like a bus \u2013 one person gets on, and everyone has to shuffle up. The person at the end is either squashed, or has to get off.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t Narwhals and walruses could be at risk in the Arctic, while icefish and leopard seals may be threatened in the Antarctic.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018We need to protect sea life,\u2019 says Tom.<\/p>\n \u2018The biggest misconception is that sharks are out to kill you. That\u2019s not even close to true. Globally, each year, there\u2019s an average of 10 deaths due to sharks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018To put that into perspective, nine people die a day sneezing while driving\u2026 just in America.<\/p>\n \u2018When people need to be really, really worried is not when new sharks are coming in, but when there are no sharks. If we don\u2019t have healthy seas, we will not survive as a species.<\/p>\n \u2018And for the sharks themselves, they\u2019ve managed to withstand five major extinction events. Hopefully humankind won\u2019t be the sixth that actually gets them.\u2019<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow \t\t\tComments \t\t\t\tAdd as preferred source \t\t\t\tNews Updates<\/p>\n Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_306070062-1d82.jpg\")
\n\t\tResearchers say the two adventurous sharks could show the population is expanding (Picture: Discovery Channel via AP)<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_307283588-657e.jpg\")
\n\t\tTom \u2018The Blowfish\u2019 Hird says that this change in shark behaviour is an indication of climate change (Picture: Netflix)<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_306069803-ad59.jpg\")
\n\t\tUK waters have everything great white sharks need (Picture: Discovery Channel via AP)<\/p>\n![\"Great](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_209269564-f115.jpg\")
\n\t\tHammerheads have a unique ability to sense life through bioelectricity under the sand (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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