SACGB appoint an Honorary Biologist

The SACGB are pleased to announce that Simon Thomas has accepted the role of Honorary Biologist with the club.  As the sharking community continue to increase their efforts toward improving conservation and the adoption of best practise in shark angling and shark handling , having access to professional advice is invaluable for the club.

Our secretary caught up with Simon to find out a bit more about our newest club member.

Simon has a degree in Marine Biology from the University of Plymouth and a doctorate in Marine Ecology from Queens University, Belfast.

He has over 30 years’ experience as a scientist and has worked in several Shark tagging programmes, including satellite tagging of Blue Sharks in the South West of England.

An impressive CV indeed but equally importantly Simon is a committed angler. He started fishing at the age of four and has been pretty much obsessed with it ever since. Many of you will know Simon as crew on the Mirage, and he spends as much time at sea as his busy schedule allows.

From the day he saw his first Blue Shark, over twenty years ago, he has been captivated by Sharks and has been heavily involved in the evolution of catch and release methods.

Simon comments, “I have been privileged to have witnessed first hand the resurgence of the Blue Shark population in the UK, and hope that the recent signs of the increase in both Porbeagle and Thresher shark numbers are a sign of a true recovery in the stocks of these magnificent fish.  I am honoured to be offered this position within the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain and will continue to be a strong advocate of sport fishing, both on a personal level and as an aid for scientific research and conservation”

Welcome to the SACGB Simon. We look forward to working with you