Harmless Basking Sharks (England’s Gentle Giants)
Basking sharks are the only ones native to our waters (mostly in Scotland), there are many other sharks around the world. Read more on why sharks matter (even if you’re scared of them!)
One shark you don’t have to be scared of is our harmless basking shark. The only fatality was when one accidentally upturned a small boat with sailors inside.
The second largest fish in the world, these are truly gentle giants, who will swim right past you (their mouths are wide open but they are looking for plankton and krill, not you).
A good reason to boycott krill supplements. Campaigners want health stores (including Holland and Barratt) to stop selling them. There is no ‘sustainable krill farming’, as endangered species like whales need them left in the sea, as vital food.
Basking sharks can grow up to 30 feet long. They are only in our seas for some of the year, you sometimes spot them in Cornwall and Devon or western Scotland, due to plankton blooms. But they live abroad the rest of the year.
However, as with all marine creatures, stay well away from them, and give them a wide berth, for their safety. Also keep boats away (read our post for sustainable sailors).
Whale sharks (not the same as basking sharks!)
Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world. The size of a bus, they have unique starry patterns. But they are only found in warmer waters, not in England. They are named after their habit of swimming slowly near the water surface, as if they are basking in the sun!
However, as with all marine creatures, stay well away from them, and give them a wide berth, for their safety. Also keep boats away (read our post for sustainable wildlife-friendly sailors).
If you do spot one, stay well away (at least 100 feet away if you’re in a boat – advice for North Atlantic and killer whales, is to stay even further away. If the shark should approach your boat, switch your engine to neutral and slow your speed to 4 knots
Never use jet skis, and if you dive or snorkel, enter the water gently to avoid splashing (if you see one, position alongside, so not to restrict its movement). Never use flash photography.
Threats To Basking Sharks
Like all marine creatures, oil and plastic pollution and over-fishing (and by-catch methods) all pose hazards. So live a simple sustainable life (and if you eat fish, look for companies that don’t use methods that catch other marine creatures).
Basking sharks are now endangered status, and it’s illegal to harm them.
Help Stranded and Injured Basking Sharks
If you do see any marine creature that you are concerned about, call British Divers Marine Life Rescue (RSPCA and Coastguard can also put you through). Keep the area quiet, to reduce stress.
If you wish, you can take a Marine Mammal Medic Course, to be of the organisation’s emergency rescue volunteers (you must have a smartphone to be alerted). You receive a lifejacket and insurance, for the first year.
You will learn how to rescue whales, dolphins and seals. The dummy whales used on beaches are so lifelike, that often locals rush over to help!
Other Sharks Found on England’s Coast
- Shortfin mako sharks can swim up to 50 miles per hour. They eat swordfish and tuna and (like dolphins) dive out of the water. They are occasionally seen around English waters.
- Blue sharks (like most sharks) only visit England in summer, and sometimes travel up to 5000 miles to reach us! Swimming in large groups, they are fortunate to arrive here, as tiger and great white sharks often eat them on the journey.
- Common thresher sharks have a tail that’s often longer than them, which they whip around to stun or disorientate fish on sea-beds. They are again summer visitors.
- Greenland sharks are smaller than great white sharks, and they swim so deep, you are unlikely to see them. They live from 250 to 400 years! The longest-living vertebrates, they only give birth after 150, and it takes 8 to 18 years to gestate a baby!
Despite urban legends and sensational headlines, no great white sharks have been officially recorded in England’s coastal waters (since possibly the 1960s). Porbeagle and blue sharks stay mostly offshore and avoid people. Hammerheads are even rarer, with only the occasional report and no ongoing sightings.
If you do see a massive fin slicing through calm water by the coast, it almost always belongs to a basking shark (or sometimes a large playful dolphins).
