by Luke Cawdell

Canterbury angler Andrew Griffith had more than one close encounter with a shark during a recent fishing expedition – he had 21.

Griffith was fishing over two days off the coast of Pembrokeshire in Wales where he landed 20 blue sharks and one porbeagle – a close relation to the Great White.

It was the porbeagle that was of particular delight for Griffith (pictured at the tail end).

He said: "I caught my first porbeagle last year after four years of trying.

"They are the most difficult shark to hook and land in the world.

"The blues come on board pretty calm but these can be lethal and if you get it wrong, you might not have any limbs left.

"The skipper (Andrew Alsop) wouldn’t let me near its head and on my first trip I was told that because we are so far off shore, about 40 miles, you could bleed to death if you were bitten before help arrived.

"So there is certainly a level of risk attached."

Alsop offered plenty of expert knowledge on the trip.

He, along with three other fishermen, previously hauled in a record 50 sharks in one trip. And in 2010, he skippered the boat which saw angling legend John Wilson catch a 184lb blue shark – one of the UK’s biggest fish ever to be landed. Although Griffith’s 90lb porbeagle was a little lighter, he was just thrilled with the experience.

He was landing the specimens thanks to a chum trail, made of oils and chopped up bait, which entices the sharks toward the boat.

He said: "I had the luxury of five rods on the go and caught eight on the first day and another 13 the next. Some of the sharks give such a hard fight that you have to be pretty fit.

"Andrew is a top skipper and such is his reputation that to get on his boat you almost have to wait until someone else dies.

"He is a top guy and every shark we caught got carefully returned."