Basking Shark Threats

·       Basking Sharks are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Monitoring, management and further research is vital to ensure their survival.

·       Human impacts disproportionately affect basking sharks, due to being long lived, slow growing and producing few young.

·       Although Basking Sharks are now one of the most heavily protected sharks in UK and EU waters, they continue to face threats from human activities:

o   Entanglement - Basking Sharks easily become entangled in fishing nets and ropes. Although some do manage to disentangle themselves, unless fishermen are on hand to quickly release them, they often die. You can sometimes see scarring and abrasions caused by nets on their dorsal fin. If you do see an entangled Basking Shark, please report it to the Shark and Ray Entanglement Network (ShaREN).

o   Boat strikes - Propeller and boat strikes remain a serious danger for Basking Sharks. Particularly in summer months when they're feeding at the surface. Basking Sharks rarely evade approaching boats. Some sharks might have scarring and sometimes injuries from collisions.

o   Harassment - Basking Sharks are very sensitive to disturbance and harassment by people. In all the excitement of seeing Basking Sharks, boats and other waters users may end up getting too close to the shark, sometimes coming into direct contact. As well as causing physical harm, water-users can also disrupt their natural behaviour, such as feeding, courting and mating.

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o   Fisheries - Basking Shark are widely protected. However, they may be caught as bycatch.

Basking Shark Conservation

Today Basking Sharks are one of the most heavily protected sharks in UK and EU waters, but this wasn't always the case.

From 1946-1995 Basking Sharks were heavily fished in the Northeast Atlantic. Targeted for their liver oil and meat. Then for their large fins, which are prized in the shark fin trade.

Basking Shark fisheries displayed a typical ‘boom and bust’ pattern. Large volumes of mature Basking Sharks were initially caught. Followed by a rapid decline of landings. Until fisheries were no longer financially viable and collapsed. The last Basking Shark fishery in British waters closed in 1995. Leaving Basking Shark populations on the brink.

Basking Sharks are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Monitoring, management and further research is vital to ensure their survival. And this is why we created the Basking Shark Project.

UK and EU Protection:

In the UK Basking Sharks are protected under:

• Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
• Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000
• Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985
• Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004
• Wildlife Act 1976 (Republic of Ireland) (Basking Sharks added in 2022 – S.I. No. 485/2022)

These Acts make it illegal to intentionally kill, injure or harass Basking Sharks in British waters. Any person committing such an offence could face up to 6 months in prison and a large fine.

They’re also protected under other fisheries management measures such as:

• Tech Con – Retained EU Legislation Tech Con Regulation 2019/1241. EU commercial fishing vessels are prohibited from targeting, retaining, trans-shipping or landing Basking Sharks. And this also applies to third country vessels in EU waters.
• Shark Finning Regulations - Regulation (EU) No 605/2013, (UK) Shark Fins Act 2023.

Global Protection

• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - Basking Sharks are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (on the Global, European, and Mediterranean assessments). They face a very high risk of extinction in the wild. So, immediate monitoring and management is needed.
  
  
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) - The Basking Shark is listed under Appendix II of the CITES. International trade is regulated to ensure it doesn't threaten the survival of the species.
  
  
• Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) - Basking Sharks are listed in Appendices I and II of the CMS and Annex I of the CMS Sharks MoU. As a highly migratory species, Basking Shark Range State Cooperation is required.
  
  
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) - The Basking Shark is listed under Annex I – Highly Migratory Species – of the UNCLOS. Article 64 of UNCLOS directs signatory States to cooperate to ensure the conservation of this species. As well as encouraging optimal utilisation if they're caught.