Protect Basking Sharks in Ireland
Research indicates that Ireland hosts up to 20% of the world’s basking shark population!!!
With some growing up to 12m in length, the basking shark is the largest fish species in the North Atlantic and is the second largest shark species after the Whale Shark and live up to 50 years.
They are endangered and only 4,000 are thought to be left in the North Atlantic.
But did you know despite Basking Sharks being endangered, Ireland provides no legal protection for them? This means a person can disturb, approach and harm them in Irish Waters without consequence!
Credit: Irish Basking Shark Group
What’s with the big mouth?
Basking sharks are passive feeders, which means they don’t actively hunt. Instead, they swim with their mouths wide open, taking in water (which it pushes out again through its gills), and gobbling down any tasty morsels that might get in its way.
Keep an eye out!
You are most likely to see them in Ireland in late spring and early summer when they can be seen close to shore feeding on the surface of the sea.
Historically, the basking shark was hunted in Irish waters for its valuable liver oil.
If you are lucky enough to see one of these magnificent creatures please report the sighting to the Irish Basking Shark Group here to help support their marine conservation work!
Conservation Status:
At a global scale, basking sharks are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN’s Red List in 2007; in 2019, they were reclassified as endangered. In 2002 the basking shark was successfully proposed as an addition to Appendix II of CITES by the UK and Australian governments. They are also covered under CMS Appendix I and II and Annex I of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Credit: Irish Basking Shark Group
We have a chance to give them legal protection!
Basking sharks are endangered in the Northeast Atlantic and global population estimates indicate that the west and northern Irish seaboard are part of the single most internationally important coastal region for this species. Basking sharks occupy inshore and offshore areas year-round in Irish territorial waters. Ireland and our coastal communities have historically benefited from basking shark fisheries and today we have a duty to provide protection for this highly mobile species when they occupy Irish territorial waters. Recent research indicated that the Irish public supports the protection of basking sharks in Irish waters (Gray, 2019). Adding the species to Schedule Five of the Wildlife Act, (1976) as amended, is the simplest method to provide protection for the species in Irish territorial waters - Irish Basking Shark Group.
1) Please sign the petition to amend Section 23 of the Wildlife Act.
2) Contact your TD to support this Bill.
3) Share far and wide!!!
More information and resources:
Irish Basking Shark Group
https://www.baskingshark.ie/
