Tope (Galeorhinus galeus) belong to the Houndsharks or Triakidae family of sharks as does the smoothound. They are common to the continental shelves of the north-east Atlantic, Mediterranean and other temperate waters, and for UK anglers the good news is that they are widely spread between Scotland and the English Channel, with some noteable hot spots which include Luce Bay, Cardigan Bay and the Thames estuary. The tope in some parts of the world is referred to as the “soupfin shark”, a clear indication of the commercial pressure these fish are under, they are caught for their fins but also for their meat and liver oil. Although tope are present year round in UK waters they are a migratory fish that tend to move inshore during the summer months. Tope tagged off England and Ireland have been recovered as far away as Iceland (1530 miles) and the Canary Islands (1570 miles).

Tope ID: Tope are slim bodied sharks which on average are about 1.2 metres in length, although they can reach up to 2 metres and have been known to reach weights over 100lbs. Colouration is grey-brown on the upper body and whitish on the belly. Colour and body shape are similar to the smoothhounds, but there are very obvious differences. Both species have two dorsal fins, but with tope, the first is much larger than the second, in contrast to the smoothounds which have equally sized dorsal fins. The second obvious difference between the two species is the teeth. Whilst smoothounds have flat teeth for grinding, tope have sharp, triangular teeth typical of other predatory sharks, which requires the use of wire or heavy monofilament traces.

Lifestyle: The female tope doesn’t become sexually mature until she is about 8 to 10 years old at 130 to 185 cm in length and then will only breed every two to three years, this low reproductive rate does make the tope very vulnerable to overfishing. After a gestation period of about 10 months female fish move inshore to give birth during late summer. As with the smoothound and spurdog, tope give birth to live young. Development of the early life stage is ovoviviparous, which means that the eggs hatch inside of the mothers oviducts and rely on a yolk sac for nourishment until approximately 20 – 40 pups are born at about 35 cm long.

Location: Young fish tend to live in shallow water whilst the depth range of the adults will extend from a few metres to several hundred metres. Generally tope are found close to the bottom over sand or gravel in areas dominated by a fast tidal flow which is often associated with rocky headlands, although fish are often encountered in mid-water and close to the surface when feeding. Food is generally fish of any type and they are often to be found in close proximity to schools of food-fish which include cod, herring and whiting. The tendency to exist close to the sea-bed is confirmed by an examination of gut contents which has revealed a fondness for dabs and other flatfish, whilst their diet isn’t exclusively fish and they will actively feed on bottom living crustaceans and molluscs.

Tagging tope is vital

MATHS LESSON: The days of tope and other sharks being strung up on the quay are long-gone, but it’s nice if you can go home with a fairly accurate estimate of your fishes weight – ever tried using a spring balance for weighing 40lb of squirming muscle at sea? No, neither have I, and in fact there is no need: Measure the girth of your tope (or shark) in inches, the girth is the distance around the deepest part of the body, and then measure the length of the fish from it’s nose to the fork of the tail. Then, take a deep breath and go for it:

1. Take the square of the girth (multiply the girth by itself)
2. multiply that number by the length
3. divide that number by 800 to give the fishes weight in pounds.

I’ve got a 34” waist (if I breathe in) and am 70” tall, if I was a tope I’d weigh:

1. 34 x 34 = 1156
2. 1156 x 70 = 80920
3. 80920 ÷ 800 = 101.15lbs

In old money that’s 101lb 2oz, not a bad fish even if I say so myself; I’ve lost 90lb, beaten the British record and my wife’s going to use this formula instead of spending a fortune at Weightwatchers every week.

Facts:
Tope (Galeorhinus galeus) 

• Slender shark, with sharply pointed snout, large pectoral fins
• Grey-brown back and sides, whitish underside
• Two dorsal fins, first is 2 to 3 times larger than second
• Typical sharp “sharklike” teeth – unlike smoothound
• Anal fin present – unlike spurdog
• Shore record 66lb, 2006, Lynmouth, Devon
• Boat record 82lb 8oz, 1991, Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex

For more information on Tope, check out the WSF Tope Pages:

• Freeline for Tope
• Tope Rigs
• Tope Profile
• Tope and Shark Weight Formula