TOPE

(Galeorhinus galeus)

COMMON NAME: TOPE (School Shark)

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Galeorhinus galeus (Linnaeus, 1758)

USUAL SIZE: To 195cm. Within Irish waters between 140/150cm

 
 

 

BREEDING:

1.       Plancentally viviparous (live bearing)

2.     Litter size between 6/52 pups, usually 25/35, with the pups at 35cm at birth.

3.     Females mature between 130/185cm when approximately 11 years old.

 

HABITAT:

• Found between depths of 2/471m
• Both a coastal and offshore species, although known to come within the surf- line.
• Mostly a bottom and mid-water schooling shark.

FOOD: Fish eater, mostly Whiting, Pout, and other schooling species, though occasionally crustaceans plus squid and cuttlefish

RANGE: From Ireland to Scotland to the English Channel, for most of the year, and during the summer months tending to be closer inshore, though migrations are known to include the Mediterranean Sea. Also found in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and California; where the current IGFA record comes from, at 98lb 8oz, though most of the line class records come from New Zealand.

ADDITIONAL NOTES: Has a potential weight in excess of 100lbs

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