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Imagine agreat ashen sharkwith the olfactory organ of the Elephant Man . That ’s the horrendous mug of a basking shark , yet these massive plankton - eaters are harmless to people .
For decades , scientists thoughtbasking sharkswere also stay-at-home , staying near to their feeding areas in cool sea weewee — regions such as Ireland and New England , for exercise . But a recent 3,100 - air mile - farseeing odyssey from Ireland to Africa by a shark nickname Banda exemplify how lilliputian science knows about the biology of thesecond - biggest fish on Earth , researcher said . The amazing journeying was first reported bythe Belfast Telegraph .
A basking shark swims through shallow, sunlit waters.
" The transcription of this magnificent journey by a basking shark from Malin Head [ in Ireland ] to fond tropical water question many of the fundamental theories marine biologist have regarding the coinage and its life - cycle , " research worker read in a assertion .
Tropical holiday
Banda , a 16 - invertebrate foot - farseeing ( 5 meters ) female basking shark , was tagged off the coast of Ireland in July by the Irish Basking Shark Study Group . Basking shark were nominate by fisher who saw them seemingly lolling at the Earth’s surface and " basking " in the sun ( the sharks are also called Dominicus or sail Pisces ) . Banda earn her sun fish moniker , traveling 3,100 miles ( 5,000 kilometers ) to the south of the point where she was tagged in search of affectionate , tropical waters off Africa , near Senegal , before dropping her trailing rag .
A basking shark swims through shallow, sunlit waters.
Banda ’s tropical vacation is the first steer that northeasterly Atlantic shark may migrate south like their west Atlantic cousin .
In 2009 , marine life scientist Gregory Skomal identify New England ’s basking shark choose to pass winter in the tropics .
Skomal , with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries , tagged 25 basking shark off Cape Cod , Mass. The sharks expend wintertime in the Sargasso Sea and the Caribbean , as well as off the seacoast of Brazil . One shark spent a month near the mouth of the Amazon River . At the prison term , no one had ever tracked sharks from European waters to the tropic .
Pacific basking sharks may also attempt farseeing journeying . On Feb. 2 , 2012 , a basking shark tail with a tracking gadget in June 2011suddenly surfaced near Hawaii . The fish , tag near San Diego , is one of only four basking sharks ever tracked in the eastern Pacific .
Helping an endangered species
Through tracking and local survey , the Irish radical desire to learn more about the shark ’s lifestyle and push for its protection within Irish piss . The enjoy sharkis listed as endangeredby the International Union for the Conservation of Nature . For 10 , it was fish for its liver oil and fins or killed for accidently destroying fisherman ’s nets .
Once numbering in the hundreds of M in temperate ocean waters , the world ’s second - largest Pisces the Fishes is now a rare sight . They can attain 45 animal foot ( 13 m ) long , with a tremendous , gaping jaw for filter - feeding , and tiny little teeth . Despite being under protection from fishing in most areas , basking shark number worldwide are dwindlingfor strange reason .
With the helper of local school day child ( through its Monster Munch task ) , the Irish study group tagged five sharks this season , and are wait to recover three remaining GPS tags ( one tag crop up off early ) .
" Recovering five complete basking shark tracks will allow us to liken the information and make informed conclusions , " said wildlife investigator Emmett Johnston , the projection ’s coordinator . " Until then , there is not much we can say other than this is a extremely unusual place to find a specie that is presume to dwell temperate waters . "
