TWO new arrivals at one of the region’s leading attractions could help provide a long-term lifeline for the survival of the species in the wild.

Two very special captive-bred sharks will take up residence at the Sea Life Centre in Scarborough when its new-look ocean tank re-opens next month.

They are male and a female blacktip reef sharks, born at Sea Life centres in Germany, and were among the first dozen successful offspring in a Europe-wide captive breeding programme.

Though currently not endangered, some localised colonies of blacktips have been wiped out by the shark-finning industry.

Scarborough displays manager Lyndsey Crawford said: “The knowledge gained by the Sea Life network’s breeding programme could prove invaluable if reintroduction to the wild proves the only way of saving the species in the future.

“With an estimated 700,000-plus sharks being killed every year, there is a very real risk of extinction for many species.”

Scarborough’s ocean display has undergone a £200,000 redevelopment including the installation of a simulated coral reef with its own shipwreck.

It even includes a miniature beach with a slope leading to it so the loggerhead sea turtle will be able to haul itself out to lay eggs.

The ocean display will be completed and its residents introduced towards the middle of February.