Watch Basking Sharks on the Isle of Man!

The magnificent basking shark Cetorhinus maximus is the second largest fish in the world, up to 10m long and seven tonnes in weight. That’s as long as a bus and as heavy as two elephants.Luckily they only eat plankton so they pose no danger to us if we follow the Shark Trust’s ‘Basking Shark Code of Conduct’. To get the best and safest experience it is best to watch them from the shore or use a WiSe-trained Wildlife-Safe boat operator.

Basking sharks are endangered, there may be only 8,200 left in the world and they breed very slowly. Manx law protects them from being hunted or disturbed so, if you see people harassing them, please inform the police or Dr Gell, Wildlife and Fisheries Officer, on 01624 843109. Their extreme rarity makes it all the more remarkable that, in 2008, the public reported 564 sightings of 1,812 basking sharks in Manx waters. Many of these animals will have been reported many times but these numbers show that you stand a good chance of seeing basking sharks if you know when, where and how to look.

The first basking shark fins are spotted slicing through Manx waters in mid-May, numbers peak in June and July and most of them are gone by the middle of August. Most sightings are of single sharks or of small groups but occasionally large groups of more than 40 sharks are seen North of Peel. The best basking shark hotspots are off the South and Southwest coast, especially off the Calf Sound, Port Erin, Fleshwick, Niarbyl and Peel.

The best chance of seeing basking sharks is on a warm, still day when the sea is calm. Obviously, you will see much more if you use binoculars. Look for basking shark ‘clues’ tidal fronts, seabirds diving into the water from a great height, and band of tourists looking out to sea through binoculars! Look down from the cliffs; scan the sea for long wiggly pale lines called tidal fronts. These oily, sometimes frothy, lines are full of plankton, jellyfish and floating seaweed. The basking sharks feed on the concentrated plankton in these fronts, zigzagging or circling in the best areas.

If you see two fins close together look carefully, these might be the dorsal and tail fins of one shark. If it is a very calm day the shark might be feeding at the very surface of the water and you might see the whole length of the shark, including its bulbous nose. Social swimming, including possible courtship behaviour, is often seen. If you see several basking sharks formation swimming they are not training for the next Olympics and Manx Basking Shark Watch would be delighted to hear about your experience.

Manx Basking Shark Watch helps the public understand basking sharks. Its research projects provide scientific information, helping governments make informed wildlife management decisions. Our satellite tagging work has proved that our Manx basking sharks travel across the Atlantic. There are many parts of the world where they are not legally protected, they are killed and their fins used to make sharks fin soup. We would dearly like to see these magnificent animals properly protected everywhere.

Look at www.manxbaskingsharkwatch.com, find out how you can help, or phone 01624-801345. Volunteers run the website, the sighting scheme and the research boat ‘Happy Jack’. All scientific and filming work is licensed at the discretion of the Manx government.
This work would not be possible without generous financial donations from Tower Insurance, Global Ocean, the Gough Ritchie Foundation, Dennis Drummond, the Basking Shark Society and the Manx government’s DAFF and DTL.




Jackie Hall is a woman on a mission – shark watching has now become her life as Blue Skies discovered.

Marine biologist Jackie Hall and her husband moved to the Isle of Man nine years ago to make a fresh start – and found their lives taken over by basking shark watching.

“Obviously marine life has always been one of my passions. Before coming to the Isle of Man I had been a scuba diver since 1984 but I had no idea that there were so many basking sharks in Manx waters,” says Jackie.

She explains that at some points on the island it is possible to sit and have a coffee in a café and watch a school of sharks
just offshore.

“This is such a beautiful place to live and I could hardly believe that there were all these wonderful sharks so close by. When we came here I became the voluntary marine officer for the Manx Wildlife Trust and helped people enjoy and understand the local marine life. In 2004 I was asked to get involved with the Marine Conservation Society to help set up a basking shark watch as they wanted to collect basking shark data.”

Says Jackie: “There was a time when if a member of the public saw a shark in local waters they would not share the information. Now we invite them to call us and let us know the location and numbers of sharks they see.”

The organisation has become well known and as a result its operations have expanded so sharks are not tagged so it is possible to see just how far – and deep – they can go.
“Last year we had a real first because one of our female sharks who we’d put a satellite tag on, crossed the Atlantic. This had never been done before.”

The peak season for shark watching is from May to August and sitings are reported all over the island, though says Jackie, the real ‘hot spots’ tend to be Port Erin, Fleshwick Bay, Niarbyl Bay and Peel. Sharks can be up to 10 metres long, and present an amazing spectacle.
“One lobster fisherman working out of Peel once reported more than 40 sharks. He stopped counting at 40 as he was busy
pulling pots!”

Jackie also explains how many sharks exhibit courtship behaviour. “We often see two groups of 12 come together, it’s a fascinating sight to see.”

This year will see the first international conference to focus on basking sharks.

“People are coming to Port Erin from all over the world in the first week of August. The event is being titled, 'Basking Sharks, The Global Perspective'."

Says Jackie: "One of the best places to see sharks is just off The Sound. You can sit and sip a cappuccino in the Sound Café and watch these amazing creatures, it really is an amazing experience and anyone is able to enjoy it.”