A fisherman's discoveries in the River Mersey have left people in disbelief.
Joe Catterall, 34, has been fishing in the river since he was a boy, having been taught by his dad. In recent years, the electrician from Wirral has taken his hobby to TikTok.
The video platform has allowed him to share his findings with his near nine thousand followers. Many of his recent videos have been met with shock, as Joe has found sharks in the Mersey.
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In January, the ECHO reported that five types of shark had been found in the river, which had previously been declared biologically dead. Fishing up and down the Mersey in recent weeks, Joe has mainly been coming across two types of shark - the starry-smooth hound and the common smooth-hound
Taking clips from his live videos and posting them to TikTok, Joe then shows the sharks in all their glory. A video from earlier this month showing a smooth hound has been watched almost 100,000 times.
Commenting on the videos, his followers have shared their surprise that there are in fact sharks in the river. One said: "Lad a Mersey shark?", while another asked: "we have sharks in Liverpool what?". Another user joked: "The shark even looks scouse".
There is nothing to be worried about though, Joe explained.
He told the ECHO: "They always come in the summer. They can get into double figures in terms of weight, over 20 pounds.
"But there's no need to worry. They haven't got teeth, they just have crushing pads so they can feed on crustaceans.
"I've been catching them all my life, mainly on the boat. But there have been some really nice-sized ones coming in recently.
"We get other sharks as well, Huss, lesser spotted dog fish and tope."
Despite his recent sightings, Joe fears the environmental progress seen in the Mersey, which has allowed more extensive maritime life to return to our shores, is being undone.
That progress was praised earlier this year, when the river was called “the best environmental news story in Europe” after the sharks and rare fish were located in it. 37 different species of fish were caught by anglers in 2022, a stark contrast from the river being declared “biologically dead” from industrial and sewage pollution a few decades ago.
However, figures show that over 147 days' worth of raw sewage was dumped into Wallasey's waterways last year. Analysis of Environment Agency data shows that in 2022, raw sewage was discharged in Wallasey for 3547 hours - the equivalent of a continuous flow running for almost 5 months of the year.
Joe said: "The water isn't healthy at all. It feels like the progress made in the past few years has gone backwards.
"Recently, a cod I caught stunk of raw sewage. There are a lot of tissues, wet wipes and rubbish on the lines."
Though there are issues with the Mersey - and bodies of water across the country - facing issues with raw sewage being dumped, Joe enjoys sharing his angling tips on TikTok and interacting with the community he has built on the platform.
He explained: "I started a YouTube a few years ago. I had a viral video and then started doing a lot of TikTok, a lot of lives.
"I get a good few 100 viewers every time I go live, I give hints and tips. I’ve got an inbox full of people I’ve helped - It's brilliant."
You can view Joe's videos on his TikTok profile - @thefishingplace.
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