Basking Sharks Gather So Close to Shore That Visitors Can Nearly Touch Them

Each year from April to early July and again in August and September, hundreds of endangered basking sharks gather along Ireland's western and south-western coasts, from Donegal Bay to County Cork, to feast on copepods and plankton blooms so large they are visible by satellite. Dr Chelsea Gray, a researcher with the Irish Basking Shark Group, calls them "global citizens, noting that "Ireland is really unique in that they come so close to shore. The sharks, which can grow up to 10m (33ft), are named for their habit of swimming along the surface to feed, earning them the Gaelic name liamhán gréine, or sun fish.

During the 1950s and '60s, Achill Island was the world's largest basking shark fishing hub, with their livers harvested for oil and fins sought for soup, nearly driving the species to extinction globally by the late 20th century. More than 40 years after the last shark was caught off Ireland in 1984, sightings have rebounded, and in 2018 the species was added to the IUCN Red List. Since 2022, basking sharks have been protected under the Irish Wildlife Act, making them the only fish species illegal to hunt or disturb in Irish waters.