Ireland’s coastal waters could provide a “suitable habitat” for Great White Sharks, according to an expert in marine ecosystems.

It follows a rumour of one such shark being spotted off the Connemara coast last week, which was since proven to be a hoax.

Ireland is currently home to many species of shark, including the Basking Shark, Porbeagle Shark, and Blue Shark.

On Moncrieff today, Trinity professor Dr Nick Payne said our waters are suitable for the Great White Shark.

“There aren’t a lot of reasons to think why they shouldn’t be here,” he said.

“We study them in other parts of the world where they are very, very common.

“We know a lot about them and the kind of temperatures they prefer, the kind of food they like, and the kind of habitats that suit them – and Ireland has all those things.”

Great White Shark sightings

Dr Payne said he hasn’t seen a confirmed report of the apex predator in Irish waters.

“There have been plenty of folks that have seen things that they think were Great Whites,” he said.

“I get sent a video or a photo probably a dozen times a year from people saying, ‘Look – this looks like one.’

"It's quite difficult to confirm these kinds of things, and I think part of the confusion comes from needing to have your camera ready to know.

“We often need to do things like take genetic samples to confirm the species that we think it is, especially when there are other species of shark in Irish waters.”

A Great White Shark in Australia. Image: Reinhard Dirscherl / Alamy Stock Photo

Dr Payne said Great White Sharks, which can weigh up to 1,100 kg, are an unusual animal.

“They have a really unusual physiology where they're able to maintain their muscle temperatures higher than the water temperature, a little bit like mammals, which is very unusual for a fish species,” he said.

“It enables them to be really competitive and perform really well, be these amazing ocean athletes in cool water where otherwise they'd be a little bit more sluggish.”

US research team

Dr Payne will be joined in Ireland by a specialised team from the US to test the waters for Great Whites once and for all.

“We’re going to take samples of the water and look at DNA fragments of animals in the water,” he said.

“There’s every chance that we don't see these animals at all, but it's a really great opportunity.

“One of the reasons I'm so excited about supporting this trip is because it allows us to assemble a team of shark scientists in Ireland that have three weeks to do nothing but study sharks.

“We're not just going to focus on this one species that everyone’s interested in, we’re going to use the platform to study loads of other sharks and rays in the country while we’re all working together for the three weeks.”

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Main image: A great white shark in South Africa. Image: Nature Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo