BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

(Antfer) #1

How to seebasking sharks in the UK


WHEN?
Baskingsharksbegintoreturntothe
UKinMayandcanbearounduntil
October.Peakseasontypically runs
from July to September.

WHERE?
Likemuchofourmarinelife,it’stricky
topredictexactlywherebaskingsharks
willshowup.Theycanappearanywhere,
buttherearea fewhotspotsdotted
aroundourcoast.Onthewestcoast
ofScotland,theSeaoftheHebrides–
whichincludesthewatersaroundColl
andTiree,thesmallisles,theUistsand
Skye– isa majorhotspot.Laterinthe
year,baskingsharkaggregationscan
alsobeseenintheFirthofClyde,which
wasthelocationofa largesharkfishery
untilasrecentlyasthe1990s.Further
south,thewesterncoastsofCornwall
andtheIsleofManarewell-known
summerfeedingsites,andpopular
locations to spot sharks from the shore.

HOW?
Fromland:baskingsharkscanbesighted
fromland,athighvantagepointssuchas
seaclis. Therearea fewcharacteristics
tolookoutfor.Thedorsalfinis very
prominent– it canbeupto1mhigh.It’s
triangularandshouldtrackconsistently
straight through the water, rather than

risingupanddownlikea dolphinor
whale.Aswellasthedorsalfin,also
typicallyseenarethetipofthenose
andcaudal(tail)fin,whichhelpto
distinguishit fromothermarinespecies.
Sometimes,ona brightandclearday,
youcanevenseethewhitebandsof
thegill-rakersjustbelowthesurface
ofthewater.Youcancontributeto
baskingsharkconservationbyreporting
sightingstotheSharkTrust’sRecording
Hub(recording.sharktrust.org)orby
contacting your local Wildlife Trust.

Boattrips:yourbestchanceofseeinga
baskingsharkisbyboat,withreputable
andexperiencedcompaniesthatfollow
strictwelfareguidelinesandcodes
ofconduct.Therearemanyother
companiesthatoeroceansafarisand
wildlife-watchingtripsatsea,butif you
arechoosinganoperatortherearea few
thingstolookoutfor.BoththeMarine
ConservationSociety(MCS)andthe
SharkTrusthavecodesofconductthat
shouldbefollowedtominimiseany
potentialdisturbanceoreectsonwild
animals.Alsolookoutforvesselsand
skipperswhoareWiSe(wisescheme.
org)accredited– thismeanstheyhave
beenapprovedbya nationaltraining
schemeaimedatreducing disturbance
to marine life.

Underwater: Wild Wonders of Europe/Sá/NPL; swimmers: Anthony Miners/Alamy; transmitter & researcher: Laurie Campbell

present,onlyspeculate.Somescientists
believetheyfollowplankton,andineffect
feedyear-round.Butwedon’tknowforsure.
Thequestionremains...whatonearthare
baskingsharksuptoaftersummer?
Onehugeenigmais matingand
reproduction.Thesepartsofthelife-cycle
arehiddenfromusandhaveneverbeen
scientificallyrecorded.Thereis some
anecdotalevidenceofsharks‘thrashing’
aroundinpairsat thesurface,including
observationsfromourownboat.Wehave
alsowitnessedsharkscloselyfollowingone
anotheralmostnose-to-tail.Thishasbeen
interpretedaspossiblepre-matingbehaviour,
thougha 2019studyledbymarinebiologist
MauvisGoreconcludedit wasmorelikely
tobefeeding-related,asindividualstook
advantageofhydrodynamics.
Anothermysteriousbehaviouris
breaching,whereindividualslaunch
themselvescleanoutthewater– quitea
phenomenalsighttobehold.Thereason
whyis unclear.A populartheoryis parasite
removal;sharksareoftenseenwithparasitic
lampreysattachedtotheirunderside.Yet
thisis quiteanexhaustivewayofshakingoff
irritants.Otherbreachingspecies– suchas
humpback whales – are thought to use this

BASKING SHARKS


Growingupto
10m,thesharks
dwarf snorkellers.

Baskingsharkswere


onceextensively


hunted for their liver.

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