A NORTH West Euro-MP has said he will step up his fight to save the sharks that swim off the Fylde coast after losing a vote to get them protected.

Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies has been campaigning to get the basking shark included in a list of endangered species but was defeated by just three votes at the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species (CITES) in Kenya last week.

And it could be three years before he gets a second chance.

The basking shark can grow to 35 feet long and weigh more than 7 tonnes but it is harmless and feeds only on plankton.

Warm water which flows up from the Gulf stream means that the giant fish can be found in waters off the North West coast. Although protected by law in British waters, these giant creatures are often caught and killed for their fins which are used to make soup, or kept as trophies, and can fetch up to £10,000 on the black market. The 150 nations attending CITES considered the proposals to control the worldwide trade in sharks but rejected them by just three votes, with most of the opposition coming from Japan and the Far East.

Mr Davies has vowed to step up his campaign and aims to win the vote at the next meeting, although this is not for three years.

"The basking shark is special because it is our shark," he said. "Few of us get the chance to see it, but all of us in the North West will be poorer were it to be lost forever.

"We cannot afford to lose any more species from this planet, let alone the largest animal which swims in the seas off our own coast."

Mr Davies is now writing to the tourist board urging them to explore ways of encouraging eco-tourism, giving more people the opportunity to take boat trips to see the sharks for themselves.