This article originally appeared in The Shark Tagger-1998 Annual Summary
This year, project personnel had the unique opportunity to dissect two basking sharks. The basking shark can attain sizes up to 32' total length (TL) and even a small individual is large by common standards. Since these sharks are not economically or recreationally valuable in the US, they are normally not brought to the dock. Additionally, the basking shark is one of 19 shark species prohibited from directed fishing by the Atlantic Shark Fishery Management Plan. Possession of any of these species is illegal and can lead to severe fines.
The first of the basking sharks we examined was a 24' TL (20' FL) immature female caught incidentally in a trawl net and brought to New Bedford, MA in mid-September with USCG and NMFS approval. The second shark, a 15' TL (14' FL) immature male was stranded in a salt pond in Wellfleet, MA. This shark was observed feeding for several hours. When the tide went out, it was unable to cross the sand bar at the entrance and died in the mouth of the bay. Project personnel and staff of the Tennessee Aquarium were able to find the shark and float it to a boat ramp where it could be dissected.
Both of these sharks were examined in detail for reproductive condition, stomach contents, liver weights and morphometric data. Due to their large size and location, it was not possible to obtain whole weights. Both of the shark's stomachs were filled with planktonic prey. The plankton was so concentrated that it looked and felt quite similar to potters clay and consisted of primarily of a copepod In addition to the APP work-up, the skeleton of the first shark was forwarded to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for further examination. The gills and nose of the second shark were also examined in great detail for parasite studies (see parasite article).
It is not uncommon for fishermen to report basking shark sightings in the summer and fall months. This past year, however, many fishermen felt that there were far more basking sharks here in the Northeast area particularly in the Gulf of Maine than they were used to seeing. This increase in sightings could be due to many factors including environmental conditions or plankton abundance. Regardless of the reason, while out fishing, keep an eye open for the possibility of viewing some of these remarkable creatures.