More than 500 shark egg cases have been collected by volunteers at Ainsdale Beach.
Staff at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas project swapped chocolate eggs for wellies to hold their Great Easter Egg Case Hunt with members of the public recently. They found 534 egg cases of thornback rays, small spotted catsharks, spotted rays, the egg of a cuckoo ray and a nursehound egg case – a rare find along this stretch of coast.
Sally Tapp, marine community engagement officer said: “It is always a joy to see the look on children’s faces when they discover that these mysterious mermaid’s purses are actually the eggs laid by sharks, skates and rays. Getting children out on the shore to experience our amazing marine wildlife first-hand will ensure that these young, enthusiastic egg case hunters want to protect our valuable marine environment in the future.
“Shark eggs, more commonly known as ‘mermaid’s purses’ end up scattered all along our coast, giving us useful clues into their secretive lives. Before they started, many of the families had no idea what these mysterious cases were, but with the help of some identification guides and an egg case expert to hand, everyone was soon getting stuck in and were easily able to identify the different species found.
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