Dr. Charles David kindly forwarded to me information about the capture and release of a new born (neonate) porbeagle shark, Lamna nasus, over Great Bank off Guernsey's east coast on 2 July 2009.  Andy Simon wrote that the new born shark weighed about 15 lbs. and was about 3 feet long.  It was caught at 4.30 pm out from Fermain Bay.  The juvenile shark was released unharmed. Andy Simon, father of the angler, has given me permission to share these images with you that were taken on his mobile phone.  One image shows the snout of the shark in the net and another of the ventral surface.  The image of the ventral surface shows clearly that the yolk sac has not yet been fully absorbed.  This shark was born very recently.  Porbeagle sharks usually produce two young per uterus (four in total per litter) after a long gestation.  The embryos are oophagous.  The mother only fertilises two eggs in each uterus but she produces copious amounts of eggs during gestation, which the developing embryos eat.  The embryos have sharp teeth to tear the skin of the eggs apart.  See below image of four embryos from a Guernsey caught porbeagle shark.  The developing embryos have a large abdominal yolk sac, which they absorb during development.  During the colder months Guernsey fishermen catch porbeagle sharks occasionally.  The captured adult females usually carry embryos.  It appears that Channel Island waters are a nursery ground for porbeagle sharks as there is evidence that porbeagle sharks give birth here. For a while Guernsey held the world angling record for a porbeagle shark. Des Bougourd caught a 430 lb female porbeagle in July 1969 off the Minquiers south of Jersey.  The fishing boat, Storm Drift, was based in Guernsey so the record was attributed to Guernsey.  Des Bougourd's shark contained four near-term embryos weighing 16 1/2 lbs, 15 1/4 lbs, 14 3/4 lbs and 14 1/4 lbs - weighing collectively 60 3/4 lbs, which is probably what made the porbeagle shark capture an angling record.  See http://homepage.mac.com/mollet/Ln/Ln_images/Bougourd's%20porbeagle.jpg
There have been many large porbeagle sharks caught in Guernsey waters in recent years.  See http://homepage.mac.com/mollet/Ln/Ln_large.htmlIn 1999 there was a frenzy in the UK media about a possible sighting of a great white shark off the coast of Cornwall.  Several anglers searched Guernsey waters for it.  Subsequently an image appeared on the front page of The Guernsey Press with an angler and his capture of a new born porbeagle shark (mis-identified as a blue shark.) For information of porbeagle shark litters from Channel Island waters see http://homepage.mac.com/mollet/Ln/Ln_litter.html 
Background information from IUCN website:
"The porbeagle reaches a maximum reported size of 355 cm TL (Francis et al. in press). Males mature at about 165 cm TL in the South Pacific and 195 cm TL in theNorth Atlantic. Females mature at about 195 cm TL in the South Pacific and 245 cm TL in theNorth Atlantic(Jensen et al. 2002, Francis and Duffy 2005, Francis et al. in press). 

Reproduction is oophagous with litters of 1 to 5 pups (average four) produced, which are 68 to 78 cm TL at birth (Compagno 1984a, Gauld 1989, DFO 2001a, Francis and Stevens 2000, Francis et al. in press). Aasen (1963) estimated that the gestation period was about eight months in theNorth Atlanticand that individual females breed each year. However, Shann (1923) found two distinct size groups of embryos present in the December to February period and suggested that gestation may last 18 to 24 months. Gauld (1989) noted that a resting period may be present between parturition and fertilisation. Francis and Stevens (2000), Jensen et al. (2002) and Francis et al. (in press) estimate an 8 to 9 month gestation period. Birth occurs in spring off Europe, spring-summer off North America and winter in Australasia (Aasen 1963, Francis and Stevens 2000, Jensen et al. 2002) and the Eastern Pacific offChile(Acuña et al. unpublished data)."

Porbeagle sharks have been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list See http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/11200/0/full
Andy Simon image showing neonate porbeagle shark (approx. 15 lbs.) with atrophied yolk sacFour porbeagle embryos from a Guernsey caught porbeagle shark. 
Best wishes, Richard Richard Lord fishinfo@guernsey.netTel: +44 (0)1481 700688Fax: +44 (0)1481 700686 http://www.sealordphotography.netChannel Islands Environment email list: http://groups.google.com/group/cienvironSlowFoodGuernsey email listhttp://groups.google.lk/group/slowfoodguernsey/