Richard Peirce, 55, from Bude, Cornwall, a shark conservationist who launched a £ 10,000 search for Great White sharks in British waters, set sail from Padstow, north Cornwall, a week ago on the first leg of his 14-day search for the predator.
So far there has been no sign of the Great White, although he has tagged three blue sharks. He is on board the private charter boat the Blue Fox with Craig Ferreira, a South African shark expert, Padstow skipper Phil Britts, crewman Mike Turner and a documentary film crew.
Mr Peirce said: “We are finding depressingly few sharks. We should be finding a lot more with the expertise we have on board.”
He added: “We have still got eight days at sea left and I hope that if we carry on doing the right things and there is an animal in the area, then we would be certain of finding it.
Yesterday he remained hopeful that the team – which moved their search to waters around Lundy Island – would still glimpse the Great White. They will spend a total of 14 days at sea, setting sail each morning and returning to land each night.
“The problem is that not only are we looking for a needle in a haystack but that needle is moving.”
The aim is to attract the Great White shark with fish remains (rubby-dubby) which is released from the boat.
A type of float tackle with baited line will be used to tempt the shark close to the boat so that the team can attach a tag that help in tracing its future movements.
Mr Peirce, a life-long shark enthusiast, is a freelance marketing consultant. He has financed the £ 10,000 expedition out of his own pocket.
Following a successful search the team will lobby for Great White sharks to be given special protection against being fished for or hunted in British waters.
