A new report has identified two areas on the west coast of Scotland as ‘hotspots’ for basking sharks, the second largest fish in the world.
In Gunna Sound between the islands of Coll and Tiree and the sea around the islands of Canna and Hyskeir, four times as many basking sharks have been recorded per hour of survey than anywhere else in the UK.
The report, published by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), identified the hotspots from the consistently high numbers of basking sharks seen at the surface, often in large groups. On one occasion in July 2006 83 sharks were recorded round Canna, with the highest daily tally round Coll in August 2005, with 94 sightings. Frequent displays of courtship-like behaviour, including breaching - where the shark leaps clear of the water - suggests that both areas are important for sharks looking for a mate.
The report interprets data collected along the west coast of Scotland between 2002 and 2006 by The Wildlife Trusts’ Basking Shark Project. Set up because so little was known about basking sharks, the project has carried out surveys along the western seaboard of the UK over the last nine years.
Suzanne Henderson, marine advisory officer for SNH said: “It is very exciting to find out that the west coast of Scotland is one of the best places to spot these majestic animals. The figures show how important these sites are nationally, and possibly globally. Although basking sharks appear to concentrate in the hotspots they can also be seen at many other places round Scotland. More remote areas of Scotland have not been surveyed in great detail so other important sites may yet lie undiscovered.”
