Planes used to find sharks Aug 25, 2008
Sandy McFarlane, a senior researcher with the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, said scientists began looking for the basking shark, called Cetorhinus maximus, in Barkley Sound, Clayoquot Sound and Rivers Inlet last September ... That was after McFarlane and two other scientists submitted a report on the basking shark's dwindling population ... During their September 2007 and May 2008 plane trips, researchers spotted no basking sharks, McFarlane said. (Edmonton Sun)
Shark count to begin off Cornwall coast Jul 26, 2008
Basking shark sightings are to be logged by volunteers in a survey that aims to find out more about the world's second largest fish. The Seaquest Basking Shark project is taking place at two locations off the Cornwall coast and aims to collect information and raise public awareness of the giant fishes and the threats they face ... Basking sharks are the secong largest fish in the world. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Experts probe mystery of shark attack in Scottish bay Jun 3, 2008
Judging by its aggressive behaviour it is a porbeagle, rather than a basking shark. A basking shark would not usually go back and hit the boat. (Aberdeen Press and Journal)
Three cheers for Peyron May 25, 2008
Late in the crossing, Vincent Riou's entry, PRB, struck a basking shark with enough force to disable the boat as the keel bulb sliced the shark in half. Since Peyron was closest to the mishap, he diverted his route to rescue Riou and brought him to Boston. (Boston Globe -- Sports)
Hungry Sharks Take Strange Walks To Find Food Mar 3, 2008
Tagging a basking shark. (Credit: Image courtesy of Natural Environment Research Council). (Science Daily)
No carping about Hugh's new crew Nov 10, 2007
Later on he played a round of fish-based Scrabble, swam with a basking shark, and met up with a kilted Scotsman who had knocked up a DIY fish smoker in his back garden using dumbbells, a tea chest, and various other pieces of jetsam. Oh, and he also did a spot of fishing before cooking up some simple yet tasty-looking dishes. (Scotsman)
Sea Otter, Peregrine Falcon Back From The Brink Of Extinction But Other Species At Risk In Canada Oct 4, 2007
If only that legislation could help species like the basking shark, a plankton-feeding fish that grows to the size of a bus; the Eastern pond mussel, decimated by the introduction of the zebra mussel into the Great Lakes; and the Eastern flowering dogwood, one of Canada s showiest trees which is being destroyed by an invasive species of fungus. Habitat loss and disturbance are the biggest threats facing species. (Science Daily)
Danger never takes a vacation Aug 22, 2007
First there was that shark sighting off of Marshfield; just a basking shark, but still. Then Chatham falls prey to a meandering great white. (Boston Globe)
Man charged with slaying of girlfriend Aug 17, 2007
NEWBURYPORT Large fish was probably a basking shark Days after great white sharks were suspected of attack seals off Cape Cod, Chris Santarelli says he saw the largest shark he has seen in his 30 years of fishing Wednesday, about a half-mile off Newburyport at the mouth of the Merrimack River ... State shark specialist Greg Skomal said it was likely that the fish was a basking shark, which bears a close resemblance to a great white and is much more common in Massachusetts waters ... The basking... (Boston Globe)
Shark tag's cross-country journey Aug 4, 2007
The device is believed to have come off a basking shark in the Firth of Clyde ... "If we can get it back then we can trace what the shark has been doing since it left the Isle of Man. The tag is thought to have come from a basking shark "We want to know how deep it has gone, what area it needs to be in, so that we can see what type of water these basking sharks prefer. (BBC News -- Science)
Demon of Dartmoor? That's just another shaggy dog story Aug 4, 2007
It is the second blow in a week for Britain's monster watchers, after the revelation that a supposed great white shark photographed off the coast of Cornwall was in all likelihood an entirely harmless basking shark. That revelation came after the case of a photograph taken in May of a "cat-like creature" on Bodmin moor in Cornwall, favoured site for beast enthusiasts. (Guardian Unlimited -- UK)
Shark! Just When You Thought It Was Safe... Aug 1, 2007
He told his local newspaper: "I've been fishing off Newquay for 25 years and I've never seen anything like it. I've seen porbeagles, basking sharks, bull sharks - but this was something else." ... Basking shark - or great white. (Sky News)
'Beasts' cause summertime havoc for holidaymakers Aug 1, 2007
Experts at Britain's Shark Trust, a marine conservation charity, also insist the fish is not a great white but a basking shark, quite common in the area and harmless to humans. Chairman Richard Pierce said the photographed fin matched the shape of a basking shark, rather than a great white. (The Age, Australia -- Breaking News)
Expert ridicules shark scare Jul 31, 2007
Swimmers, surfers and fishermen can rest easy in the knowledge that the Jaws of the Cornish coast, captured on video and posted on the Sun's website, is a harmless basking shark and not the great white the paper claimed, according to a marine biologist ... Dr Sims concluded that the first video claiming to show a shark actually showed a pod of dolphins or porpoises and a more recent one featured a basking shark, a non-aggressive creature that eats only plankton. (Guardian Unlimited -- UK)
'Man-eating' shark off English coast Jul 30, 2007
She told The Sun newspaper that she and other passengers on the boat initially thought it was a docile basking shark, common in local waters, before realising how large it was. "You could see the fins just like Jaws as it swam through the water," she told the newspaper. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Underwater worldFishcams highlight the need for better marine conservation Jul 4, 2007
The basking shark is the biggest fish found in UK waters. According to government figures, the UK's seas cover an area three times that of the land, and 17 million of UK citizens live within seven miles (11km) of the coast. (BBC News)
Wildlife trade group refuses to defend 2 popularly eaten shark species Jun 9, 2007
Three shark species already are listed for trade restrictions: the great white shark, the basking shark, and the whale shark. Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company. (Boston Globe)
2 shark species won't get protections Jun 9, 2007
Three shark species already are listed for trade restrictions: the great white shark, the basking shark and the whale shark. Both the porbeagle and spiny dogfish are slow to mature and do not reproduce until their teens, making them vulnerable to overfishing. (MSNBC -- Environment)
Biggest fish in Canadian waters endangered, scientists say May 1, 2007
Fishermen used to regularly encounter the basking shark, which can reach the length of a city bus, but in the past decade there have been only six sightings ... The basking shark was the most notable animal on a list the government-appointed committee plans to present to the environment minister asking that certain species be declared endangered and given protections ... Mr. Hutchings said that the loss of a large predator upsets the ecosystem in complex ways, and the basking shark is a... (Globe and Mail)
DNA Testing Reveals Continued, Illegal Trade In Fins Of Endangered Basking Sharks Apr 24, 2007
Despite regulations by some countries to protect the behemoth basking shark from further population declines, a new study published in the current on-line edition of Animal Conservation reports that the world s second largest fish is still being killed for its high-priced fins. Growing up to 40 feet long, the filter-feeding basking shark is considered to be extremely vulnerable to fishing pressure, perhaps more so than most sharks, because it grows slowly, matures late, and has low numbers of... (Science Daily)
Fear more dangerous than sharks Mar 26, 2007
Even the government of B.C., back in the 1950s, helped wipe out the harmless basking shark due to a high demand for their livers. Once seen in abundance by fishermen around the Tofino area, sightings today are extremely rare, leading many to believe these plankton-eating creatures are on the brink of extinction. (Saanich News)
Last night's TV Jan 12, 2007
In 1970s California, people's houses were like nightclubs - and they had lifestyles to match. Sam Wollaston Thursday January 11, 2007. (Guardian Unlimited -- Arts)
Reader's Alley Dec 31, 2006
However, the common concensus among scientists is that the carcass was that of a decomposed basking shark and not a plesiosaur. The closest thing to a living dinosaur being found was the discovery of the coelacanth, a fish long thought to be extinct. (Helena Independent Record)
Sharks abound, but for how long? Sep 1, 2006
Slaughter in the water. Sharks abound off the West Coast, but for how long. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Fin demand endangers sharks Aug 31, 2006
In the fish markets of Asia, the tailfin from a basking shark can fetch nearly $10,000 (5,250), a price tag justified not by its nutritional value, but its desirability as a vast sign on which restaurants can advertise their shark fin soup. Demand for the delicacy is rising fast, and at up to $100 a bowl, fisheries around the world are in open competition to supply more than 10,000 tonnes of fins to Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore every year. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
Fisherman sees shark in York waters Aug 22, 2006
According to Parks and Recreation Director Michael Sullivan, a fisherman saw what he believed to be a basking shark Wednesday evening near the Cutty Sark Motel ... Sullivan said basking sharks, which can be as long as 32 feet, are imposing but do not go after live prey ... If it was a basking shark, he said, it would not pose a danger to beach goers, but "they are big and scary looking," he said. (Seacoast New Hampshire)
Invasion of the warm water aliens Aug 19, 2006
Last week he took a group of tourists out to sea where they saw a huge basking shark as well as a giant sunfish 800 metres off the coast. "I don't understand why anyone goes abroad now," he said. (Guardian Unlimited)
DNA helps nab illegal shark fin traders Aug 16, 2006
Another nearby bag was labeled "baxin," possibly short for the protected basking shark, and agents wondered how many of the fins might be illegal to possess ... During the last six years, Florida researchers have developed DNA tests that can quickly identify material from 30 different shark species, including the great white and basking shark, in a matter of hours ... After agents took fins from the New York fish dealer in 2003, Shivji's lab was able to positively identify a total of about 230... (Bakersfield Californian -- Nation)
In search of a monster Jul 31, 2006
Tournament Biologist Greg Skomol would say he was 90 percent sure it was a basking shark. 3 p.m.. (The Standard-Times, MA)
Earth faces 'catastrophic loss of species' Jul 20, 2006
from The Independent & The Independent on Sunday. Earth faces 'catastrophic loss of species. (Independent)
Saved by Dolphins Jul 7, 2006
There were seven of them: Paul, Niel, Diego, Dale, the two Jims and a Harold, most expert outdoorsmen, nervy, athletic tough guys who might one weekend whip down to Mexico to hunt panther and the next be back home to spear a basking shark, dive for lobster or bag some venison in the close-by hills still thick with deer. All were his friends, but three were especially close fishing and hunting buds, and all of them wanted him more accurately needed him to come out with them on an underwater... (Los Angeles Times)
Scientists to study dead basking shark May 19, 2006
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) - Biologists hope to glean almost a year's worth of data from a dead basking shark that washed up on a beach this week with a satellite tag attached to its fin ... The basking shark is part of a species that feeds off plankton and generally roams between Florida and Newfoundland, Canada, Kohler said ... Basking sharks are known to congregate off New England during the spring and summer to feed off plankton-rich waters, Kohler said. (Herald Online, SC -- Health)
