Children take part in Easter shark egg hunt

Jersey children are being encouraged to take part in an Easter egg hunt of a different kind.

The National Trust for Jersey is hosting a "shark egg hunt" on Thursday to help teach children about ray and shark species found in the island's waters.

At an earlier event, participants searched the east coast at La Rocque for cat shark eggs and blonde ray eggs which are the most commonly found in Jersey.

The trust said the children's finds would help contribute to the Shark Trust's national database on the species that lived and bred in local waters.

Kiefer, eight, said shark eggs were hard to find as they were hidden in seaweed and rocks

"They look like mermaid purses, that's what they're called," he said.

"It's great fun because I like finding all the stuff."

Erin Cowham, the trust's senior education officer, said children taking part in the paid and ticketed event were "citizen scientists" and the sharks around the island were small, so there was no need to be afraid.

She said the the sharks and rays laid eggs out at sea and, once they hatched, the cases washed up on the beach.

"The national Shark Trust gather data on all the distribution and maps where all the sharks and rays are in the British Isles," she said.

"We add the data we collect to that so they can build a picture of where they all are".

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