The Shark trust and BSAC have recently joined forces to provide answers to an oft-asked question. Where do sharks and skates lay their eggs? The new initiative from the shark trust, in coordination with the British Sub Aqua Club, extends the reach of the great eggcase hunt.
The Great Eggcase Hunt has been running for over two decades, since its launch in 2003, and over 600,000 eggcases have been recorded in that time. The hunt itself encourages people to head out to the beach or coastline and take a look out for mermaid’s purses. These are the eggcases of sharks and skates – many of which wash ashore after they have hatched. Anyone can contribute to the Great Eggcase Hunt, no matter their age or interest, and it’s a great way to get out and spend time near the sea.
However, of the 600,000 eggcases recorded in the two decades of the Great Eggcase Hunt thus far, over 99% have been recorded on beaches, washed ashore once the shark or skate has already hatched. In partnering with BSAC, the shark trust hopes to gain more insight into the shark and skate life cycle by encouraging records from the subtidal, and of eggcases still attached to seaweed and the seabed. In some cases this will be eggcases that have the young shark or skate still developing within, but the main goal of this call is to observe the places and the habitats that sharks and skates use to allow their offspring to develop safely.
By reaching out to divers and snorkellers, the shark trust hope to fill a vital gap in the data collected as part of the Great Eggcase Hunt. This will allow them to continue and progress their fantastic work in protecting sharks and skates all over the world.
In addition, this year The Shark Trust are holding the Great Shark Snapshot! This event will be from the 18th to the 26th of July 2026, and during this week divers and snorkellers are requested to submit records of all their sightings of sharks, rays and skates to the Shark Trust, allowing them to build a picture of species distribution around the UK and indeed, around the world! So, get your goggles on and look out for any elasmobranchs you might see, especially this summer.
You can log your sightings of sharks and skates on the Shark Log Sightings database, especially during this Great Shark Snapshot week. But of course, sightings are welcomed and encouraged all year round.
Head to Shark Trust Great Eggcase Hunt to find resources and ID guides to help you find and identify mermaid’s purses! The shark trust also has an app for you to record your eggcase sightings, as well as their recording hub.
