However Elaborate, The Law Cannot Restore Life To A Dead Shark! by Edward Fahy, as published in the marine times in January 2010 On 21st October, skipper Ian Milne of the MFV Celtic Venture landed a basking shark at Howth. He had been trawling Nephrops off Lambay Island when the net enclosed the half tonne fish which was dragged behind his vessel for one or two hours, according to the Irish Independent. The shark was greeted as a culinary delight ...

The modern day shark hunter might not be seeking the basking shark for its oil or skin but as those attending the first Irish basking shark seminar soon found out, they employ the same age old tactics as the shark hunters of the 18th and 19th centuries. Often times they utilise tiny boats like their historic namesakes to sneak up on these gigantic marine animals which are longer than a Dublin bus and weigh more than an African elephant. You might ...

A basking shark was recently landed into Howth, Co Dublin after being incidentally caught alive in a prawn trawler. The skipper had hoped to sell it for 10 euro per kilo and had arranged a fish monger to cut up and distribute the shark. Unfortunately for this fisher he did not realize that it is illegal under the Common Fisheery Policy to sell basking shark meat and products even if caught incidentally. The UK Shark Trust informed the Irish ...

The first Irish Basking Shark Seminar on the study and conservation of basking sharks in Ireland will be held at the Bord Iascaigh Mara, National Fisheries College, Greencastle, Co. Donegal on the 30th and 31st of October 2009. The seminar, organised by The Irish Basking Shark Project, and funded by the Heritage Council is aimed at all interested parties including members of the scientific community and the general public with an interest in Irish ...

There is a £200 (Sterling) reward for anyone who finds a basking shark tag thought to be washed up in County Dublin or Wicklow. Our colleagues in the Isle of Man have been putting out satellite tags on basking sharks this summer. They are designed to pop off after a pre-determined time. One of their basking shark tags, from a female named Amie, popped off last week and is heading towards Dublin Bay! On Wednesday 16 September it was approaching ...

September has seen a return of basking shark sightings around the coast of Inishowen, Co. Donegal with large aggregations reported off Malin head and even as far west as Tory Island. This is the first year that basking sharks have been recorded in such large numbers during September. The shark survey team deployed three more visual tags during opportunistic encounters with the sharks. Calm waters and sunny weather has brought increased densities of ...

The 7m basking shark was tagged off the Blasket Islands, Co Kerry on Sunday 9 August. This was the 100th shark tagged this season, an astonishing success rate. Prior to this year only eight tags had been deployed on basking sharks in Ireland and les than 50 worldwide. The tagging study, funded by a Heritage Council Wildlife Grant, aims to determine the movements and migration patterns of basking sharks in Ireland and determine growth rates, longevity ...

The first satellite tags ever to be deployed on basking sharks in Ireland was achieved this week. Two Wildlife Computers MK10 Archival tags were deployed on basking sharks under the shadow of Slea Head, Co Kerry. The tags are attached at the base of the sharks dorsal fin and will record location, water temperature and depth for the next 215 days (7 months). After this period the tag will detach from the shark, float to the surface and relay the ...

Amazingly one of the yellow visual Tags deployed off Malin head, Co. Donegal was re-sighted off Tiree, Scotland 26th June 2009, the tagged shark was recorded with one other shark, which was not tagged. The tag was deployed off Malin Head between the 1st and 3rd of June 2009 but at this stage the number on the tag is unknown. This is the first re- sighting of a visual tag outside of Irish waters and builds on the previous re- sightings recorded near ...

Imagine a fish that is larger than a double decker bus and weighs more than an African elephant, Now Imagine you saw it fly! That's precisely what the Irish basking shark project tagging team captured on camera off Malin head this week. While most of us were relaxing in the glorious sunshine over the past few days, a shark tagging team have been out searching the coastline off Malin Head for the largest fish in the Atlantic Ocean, the Basking Shark. ...