BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

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.