Fish
Tope
Galeorhinus galeus · also called school shark
Off the Welsh coast in summer, a school of tope cruises just above the sand, slim grey sharks on the first stage of a migration that may carry them hundreds of miles.
Overview
The tope, Galeorhinus galeus, is a Critically Endangered houndshark of temperate seas in both hemispheres. Its migrations, live-bearing nurseries, and past fishing for liver oil make it one of the most travelled and most heavily exploited of the small sharks.
A shark that was fished for its liver
In the twentieth century, vitamin A from the tope’s liver drove a fishing boom that badly reduced numbers, and populations have never fully recovered.
Status
Critically Endangered, declining in many regions.
Tope: common questions
Why was the tope fished for its liver?
Its liver oil is rich in vitamin A, and intensive fishing for it in the twentieth century badly reduced numbers in several regions.
How does the tope reproduce?
It gives birth to live pups, which are born in shallow nursery areas in bays and estuaries.
Why is the tope critically endangered?
It has been heavily fished for meat, fins, and liver, and its slow growth and late maturity mean populations recover slowly.
Where is the tope found?
It lives in temperate waters of the north-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the south-western Atlantic, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.