Basking sharks

Dr Mauvis Gore of Marine Conservation International gave a fascinating talk on basking sharks to Arran Natural History Society last week. Research using satellite tags attached to the sharks have already shown the immense distances basking sharks can travel. Some of them remain in Scotland until months after they may be observed at the surface, while others migrate much further, with two individuals recorded crossing the Atlantic.

Dr Gore will be tagging these wonderful creatures again this year and tags may wash up on the beaches around the Clyde and western Scotland from late summer onwards. The picture shows what the tags look like, so if you find one, please don’t bin it, because the information it contains may be very important. There is a reward for any tag found and returned to Dr Gore. and it is enormously helpful if members of the public can help to find them.

UK Shark Trust has a basking shark photo-identification website at www.baskingshark.org.