EXCLUSIVE: Experts warn great white sharks could soon cruise off the UK coast as warming seas push species north, though scientists say attacks on humans are extremely rare
Great white sharks could very soon be cruising off Britain’s coastline, boffins say. And experts reckon that with the ever changing climate heating waters near the UK it has been “surprising” that one hasn’t turned up yet.
The warning comes just days after a great white shark – made famous in the 1975 Hollywood hit Jaw – was captured on video in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this week. Divers came face-to-face with the 15ft beast – which can weigh up to 4,000lb – during a mission to clear netting from a shipwreck.
Shark expert Dr Jack Cooper says Great white sharks swimming in English waters is “an inevitability” as seas warm.
He warns it’s not about whether they’ll show up on th coasts of places like Cornwall, Devon or even Blackpool, but when. The expert said: “In short, it is an inevitability at our current pace of climate change, but we can’t say for sure when.
“Climate change is indeed causing global sea temperatures to rise and this has forced many shark species to move polewards into more favourable environmental conditions”.
And he said we’re already seeing signs of change in Britain and Ireland, after a rare species washed up far beyond its usual range. Dr Cooper told the Daily Star: “We’ve already started seeing this in the UK – just a few years ago, three specimens of a rare shark called a smalltooth sand tiger shark beached on coastlines of England and Ireland.
“They’d never been seen in our waters before and were a whole three degrees of latitude further north than they should’ve been. The scientists who researched these sharks had said that increasing temperatures was the likely cause.”
Professor Charles Underwood, from the School of Natural Sciences at Birkbeck University, echoed Dr Cooper’s statements, saying the idea of great whites turning up around the UK is less far-fetched than many people think.
He said: “The real surprise is that great whites are not here already- the water is already warm enough for them and there are loads of seals and increasing numbers of dolphins.”
Prof Underwood added that a growing supply of prey could even tempt sharks across from the other side of the Atlantic. “As numbers of tuna and dolphins increase, it may tempt sharks across the Atlantic from the US coast where they are relatively common,” he said.
If great whites do arrive, he said they’re most likely to be spotted around seal colonies and in deeper, clearer water along the west coasts like Devon, Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, and Hebrides. El Niño will also impact how soon we may see a dangerous sharks. The climate pattern can warm ocean waters and reshape marine ecosystems, pushing both prey and predators into new areas.
Chris Lowe, professor of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, pointed to these shifting conditions as a factor that can influence where sharks are found. He said: “Oceanographers are predicting a very strong El Niño this year, and when that happens we do start to see sharks show up in places where we don’t see them before.
“A lot of that is driven by water temperature. So as water temperatures increase, these sharks are moving to places where they find more comfortable conditions.”
The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File recorded 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide in 2025, alongside 29 provoked incidents and 105 total reported interactions. That figure is broadly in line with recent averages, with researchers noting that year-to-year fluctuations are expected.
The United States recorded the highest number of cases with 25 unprovoked bites, followed by Australia with 21. Florida accounted for 11 incidents, the most of any American state.
Most encounters were linked to everyday beach activity, including swimming and wading (46%) and surfing or board sports (32%), underscoring how often interactions happen in shared coastal spaces. Chisholm said the number of shark-related incidents remains extremely low compared to the number of people entering the ocean.
Dr Cooper emphasised: “The great white shark, as an apex predator, is an extremely important component of the marine ecosystem. It keeps food webs healthy by keeping prey populations at bay, which therefore keeps the ocean healthy.
“But tragically, the great white shark is threatened – classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN globally, and Critically Endangered in the Mediterranean. We are far more dangerous to great white sharks than a great white shark is to us.”
According to the International Shark Files, which tracks unprovoked attacks dating back to the 1500s, last year was an exceptionally deadly one.
While the 65 global attacks sat slightly below the ten-year average of 72, nine proved fatal – well above the usual average of six. Meanwhile, Australia suffered one of its bloodiest years in recent history, recording 21 bites and surpassing its five-year average of 13.
Down Under also claimed the highest death toll, accounting for 56 per cent of all global fatalities. Australia’s waters are uniquely perilous because they are stalked by the “big three” – Bull sharks, tiger sharks and Great Whites.
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