Daring Brits are travelling from all over the country to take the plunge with fearsome sharks off our coasts.
The number of firms offering close-up experiences with the sharp-toothed beasts is rapidly growing. Interest in the seaside pursuit has rocketed since the pandemic with brave tourists flocking to dive with 4m-long blue sharks.
But Richard Rees, the director of Celtic Deep, which operates off the coast of Pembrokeshire warns the ocean dwellers “are not sort of like harmless puppy dogs.”
READ MORE: Woman swallowed whole by 13ft shark while swimming with friends – and nobody noticed
Get the latest news on the Daily Star homepage.
He said they must be “respected for what they are – apex predators in the ocean.”
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The marine expert added: “People are travelling from all over the country to come and do it.
“They’ve got a love of sharks or certainly a curiosity around it.”
But the trips are risky.
A woman was bitten on the leg in 2022 during a blue shark tour in Penzance in a rare example of an “unprovoked” attack in British waters.
She issued a statement at the time saying she was scared but said she didn’t want a “freak event to tarnish the reputation of an already persecuted species.”
(Image: Getty Images/Image Source)
The shark tourism industry was worried about the incident but the attack did not impact interest in diving with the giant fish.
This summer is gearing up to be the busiest to date.
Gonzalo Araujo, of Marine Research and Conservation Foundation, said: “The incident in Penzance in 2022 was an unfortunate occasion.
“Blue sharks feed on fish and squid mostly, so going after something big like a human is super rare.
“In fact, this was the first incident with a blue shark in-water ever reported.
“It is unlikely to happen again.”
Safety precautions to stop future attacks include rules that tourists must wear dark wetsuits and must not try to feed the predators.
Blues are one of 30 shark species thought to be in British waters.
They visit the UK’s south-west coast in the summer, after travelling thousands of miles from the Azores to the Caribbean and back to Britain and Ireland.
For the latest news stories from Daily Star sign up for our newsletter.