Basking sharks among the largest and most mysterious fish on the planet glide so close to Ireland’s western shores each year that you can almost reach out and touch them. These gentle giants, normally elusive in the world’s cold oceans, appear in extraordinary numbers off counties Mayo, Donegal and Cork, turning Ireland into one of the best places on Earth to see them.
Each spring and again in late summer, hundreds of basking sharks arrive to feast on vast blooms of plankton and copepods, sometimes so dense they’re visible from space. For many locals, word spreads quickly along the coast when the first dorsal fins break the surface.
Standing high on a wind‑lashed hill on Achill Island, the writer finally spotted two of these enormous creatures drifting lazily beneath the cliffs near Keem Beach a moment that sparked a determination to see them up close. A week later, leaning over the side of a boat, they prepared to come face‑to‑fin with one of the ocean’s most impressive animals.
According to Dr Chelsea Gray of the Irish Basking Shark Group (ISBG), these sharks are “global citizens,” found from Scotland to New Zealand. But Ireland is unique: the sharks swim exceptionally close to shore, making them visible from both land and sea in shallow bays.
Basking sharks are the second‑largest fish in the world, reaching up to 10 metres (33 feet) in length. Despite their size, they are gentle filter feeders one of only three plankton‑eating shark species. Surprisingly, they are more closely related to great white sharks than to whale sharks, even though their feeding habits resemble those of the latter.
Their name comes from their habit of swimming slowly near the surface, mouths wide open as they filter thousands of litres of water per hour a serene sight that has captivated coastal communities for generations.
+ There are no comments
Add yours