Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Triakidae
Genus: Galeorhinus Blainville, 1816

Galeorhinus galeus (Linnaeus, 1758)
En: Tope shark - Du: Ruwe haai

Uncommon species off the Dutch coast; mainly in summer and autumn (Nijssen & de Groot, 1987, p. 57; Nijssen, 2001, p. 30).

Sighting data:

16 July 2003 A lightgrey shark with an estimated length of 1.5 m, tentatively identified as a tope, was seen by three Belgian divers (Jan van Praet, Bert Janssens and Inge Buytaert) in the Oosterschelde, Zeeland, near Wemeldinge, at a depth of 25 m (J. van Praet, 2003).
19 August 2002 A shark with an estimated length of plus 1 m, tentatively identified as a tope, was seen by two Belgian divers (Bruno Bossier and Stef Teuwen) in the Oosterschelde, Zeeland, near Goesse Sas, at a depth of 47 m. Identification is uncertain.

Angling data:

17 July 1976 Dutch angling record, length 137 cm and weight 11 kg, no further details (NCRZ, 2003).

Other data:

22 May 2002 Female with a length of 120 cm caught in a fishing net in the Ballumerbocht, Dutch Wadden Sea south of Ameland island (Kwant, 2002, 1 fig).
October 1993 Specimen with a length of 157 cm, no further details (EcoMare, 2001).


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