Basking Shark Code of ConductThe following guidelines have been designed to help boat handlers reduce the risk of killing, injuring or harassing Basking Sharks.

Boat control near Basking Sharks• Restrict your speed to below 6 knots and

avoid sudden speed changes.• When closer than 100 m switch the engine

to neutral to avoid injuring sharks.• Avoid disturbing dense groups of sharks

as you may disrupt courtship behaviour.• Be extremely cautious in areas where

Basking Sharks have been seen breaching.

• Jet-skis are incompatible with Basking Sharks and should stay at least 500 m away.

• Remember that for every shark visible on the surface there are likely to be more hidden just below.

Tips• Take time to observe the direction of

movement of the Basking Sharks to anticipate their course – you can then position yourself for the best view.

• Don’t forget to take pictures of the fins for the photo-identification project.

Under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) it is illegal to kill, injure or recklessly disturb Basking Sharks in British waters. Any person committing such an offence could face up to 6 months in prison.

10m

20m

30m

40m

50m

60m

70m

80m

90m

100m

When closer than 100 m switch the engine to neutral

Remember that for every shark visible on the surface there are likely to be more hidden below

6knots

Restrict your speed to below 6 knots

Don’t forget to take pictures of the fins for the photo-identification project

www.baskingsharks.org

Illustrations by Marc Dando

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bmit

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w.b

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mor

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out

how

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king

Sha

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are

affec

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an’s

activ

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will

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of t

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biol

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man

agem

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of B

aski

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hark

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Part

ners

hip

for A

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ains

t Wild

life

Crim

e –

PAW

To re

port

inci

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o a

Bask

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Shar

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cont

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our l

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Pol

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Wild

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See:

ww

w.d

efra

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.uk/

paw

/con

tact

s.ht

m fo

r the

con

tact

det

ails

of

you

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Wild

life

Trus

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are

47 l

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life

Trus

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cros

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K.

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Wild

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the

larg

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volu

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gani

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to co

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Mar

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The

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skin

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port

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MCS

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ww

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uk.o

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Resp

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Eco-

tour

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WiS

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hem

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(Wild

life

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to

deliv

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Bask

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Incl

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Shar

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The

Shar

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cons

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the

stu

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man

agem

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and

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of

shar

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kate

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ou c

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ontr

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the

fu

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sur

viva

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t vu

lner

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sp

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ado

ptin

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bec

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mem

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bot

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whi

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roug

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Trus

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site

– w

ww

.sha

rktr

ust.

org

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Cra

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Eric Stephan/APECS

Rory Goodall/Elemental Tours

Bask

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Dead

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ashe

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Colin Speedie /Swiss Shark Foundation

Illustr

ation

by M

arc D

ando

.

MarineConservationSocietyMCS

Marine

Conservation

Society

MC

S

Basking Shark Code of ConductThe following guidelines have been designed to help swimmers and divers reduce the risk of injuring or harassing Basking Sharks.

Swimming with Basking Sharks

• Do not try to touch the sharks.• Maintain a distance of 4 m from each

shark and be wary of the tail.• Groups of swimmers should stay together

and ideally remain at the surface.• Restrict the number of people in the

water at any one time.• Take plenty of pictures but avoid flash

photography which can scare the sharks. Photograph any characteristic features which may help re-identify the shark in the future.

• Do not use underwater propelled devices.

Tips

• Aim to anticipate the direction of movement of the sharks and enter the water 100 m ahead of the sharks.

Under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) it is illegal to kill, injure or recklessly disturb Basking Sharks in British waters. Any person committing such an offence could face up to 6 months in prison.

1m

2m

3m

4m

5m

6m

7m

Remember that for every shark visible on the surface there are likely to be more hidden below

Maintain a distance 4 metres away from each shark

Restrict the number of people in the water at any one time

Illustrations by Marc Dando

ww

w.baskingsharks.org

Basking Sharks- Gentle Giants of the SeaBasking Shark Facts

The Basking Shark is the second largest fish in the sea and a regular visitor to U

K waters.

Docile

plankton-feeders, Basking

Sharks are regularly spotted feeding in the surface w

aters off U

K coastlines during the spring and sum

mer m

onths. So, next tim

e you go to the coast, keep your eyes peeled for the fins of Basking Sharks breaking the sea-surface; you m

ay be lucky enough to see Britain’s largest shark!

Nam

e: Basking Shark Cetorhinus maxim

us. Cetorhinus is derived from

the Greek “ketos” m

eaning a marine m

onster or whale and

“rhinos” which m

eans nose, while the species nam

e maxim

us is Latin, m

eaning “great.” Size: Basking Sharks are believed to grow

up to 10 metres in length

but the average adult length is around 6.5 to 9 metres.

Biology: Poorly known – slow

growth rate and late m

aturity with life

expectancy of over 50 years. Food: Basking Sharks feed passively

on zooplankton and are thought to be capable of filtering over 1,800 tonnes of w

ater per hour. D

istribution: Basking Sharks have a circum

global distribution and are found in tem

perate waters.

Behaviour: Basking

Sharks are

pelagic species that are often seen singly or in groups of up to 100 feeding

at the

surface. D

espite their size, Basking Sharks can leap clean out of the w

ater.

Photo-IdentificationPhoto-identification is a pow

erful tool for studying sharks in their natural environm

ent.

The European Basking Shark Photo-id

Project (EBSPiP)

was

created to

catalogue im

ages of

Basking Sharks in order to establish greater understanding of the population size, structure and m

ovements of Basking

Sharks around the British Isles and abroad.

It is very easy for everyone to get involved in the project and m

ake a significant contribution to the greater understanding and conservation of Basking Sharks. By taking photographs of the fins or any other characteristic feature

of Basking

Sharks and

submitting them

to the project you are taking an active role in an ongoing shark conservation effort.

To find out more about the project

and to submit your im

ages, go to w

ww

.baskingsharks.org.

Conservation and ProtectionH

istorically, Basking Sharks were heavily fished for their liver oil,

meat, fins and cartilage. This, com

bined with their slow

maturity and

low reproductive output, has led to Basking Sharks being listed as

globally Vulnerable on the IUCN

’s Red List and Endangered in the N

ortheast Atlantic and N

orth Pacific.

Internationally, Basking Sharks are protected under a number of

international agreements such as the Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix II, The Convention on

Migratory Species (CM

S) Appendix I and II, and A

nnex I of the United

Nations Convention on the Law

of the Sea (UN

CLOS).

In British waters, Basking Sharks are protected from

capture and disturbance under the W

ildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and the Countryside Rights of W

ay Act, making it illegal to intentionally

disturb or harass the sharks.

The UK governm

ent has made a com

mitm

ent to conserving some

of the UK’s m

ore threatened species by creating Biodiversity Action Plans (BA

Ps). The Shark Trust is one of three lead partners for the Basking Shark BA

P and has created the attached Code of Conduct to encourage w

ater users to enjoy Basking Sharks safely without

causing excessive disturbance or harassment.

More details about the protection and conservation of Basking

Sharks both nationally and internationally can be found on: w

ww

.baskingsharks.org.

Sally Sharrock A Basking Shark filter feeding at the surface through its gill rakers.

A Basking Shark.

All photos on this page courtesy of Colin Speedie/Swiss Shark Foundation.

Illustration by Marc Dando.

www.baskingsharks.orgMarineConservationSocietyMCS