Anyone who has ever seen Jaws has been left with some trepidation about treading into the water.
In fact, a National Geographic Wild poll of 2,000 British adults found four in 10 people admitted to an irrational fear of sharks while swimming in the sea, while more than eight out of 10 think they have been given a bad reputation by Hollywood.
There are some 10 million small sharks and 100,000 larger sharks circling our coastline and more than 30 species of shark found in Britains coastal waters.
The largest is the 25-foot-long basking shark, which visits in summer months. The fastest shark, the mako shark, is also found in UK waters.
And its about to get more cramped.
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More species could be heading towards the UK from places such as the Mediterranean and the coast of Africa as seas become warmer due to climate change, according to the research commissioned to mark Nat Geo Wilds week-long Sharkfest TV show this week.
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Hammerheads, blacktips and sand tiger sharks could all be heading to our shores in the next 30 years, with Cornwall identified as Britains Shark Capital. Luckily, the TV network has produced a handy map to illustrate the UKs shark hotspots.
Dont worry though, as the chances of us humans being killed by a shark are one in 3,700,000. Indeed, for every human killed by a shark, humans kill two million sharks.
Species already found in UK waters, such as thresher, basking and nursehound sharks, are in decline due to over-fishing and other problems.
They need protection, according to Dr Ken Collins, from the University of Southampton, based at the National Oceanography Centre, and former administrator of the UK shark tagging programme.
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Dr Collins, who produced the research, said: Though while the potential number of shark species around the UK may increase in the next few decades, the overall number of sharks, especially the larger ones, will fall as a result of over-fishing, plastic waste and climate change.
Its really important we work together to prevent a premature extinction of these wonderful creatures.
He also said he saw no reason why there should not be great white sharks in UK waters, as they were found in colder waters off South Africa and favoured seals – found in Cornwall – to eat.
A spokesman for Nat Geo Wild said sharks had been portrayed for too long in a one-dimensional way, as terrifying predators, and Sharkfest aimed to reveal the true awe-inspiring nature of sharks.
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One thing is for sure – were going to need a bigger boat.
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