Scientists to track sharks basking in Scottish hotspots
July 2012. Marine biologists from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the University of Exeter have attached satellite tracking tags to 20 basking sharks in the seas around the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. The tags will allow people to track the movements of the sharks on the SNH website in close-to-real time.
Where do they go in winter?
The tags will provide information on the location and behaviour of the sharks during the summer when they can be seen feeding in large numbers at the surface. They will also track the sharks for several months afterwards, helping scientists understand if the sharks travel to deeper water around Scotland and further afield over the winter.
The tags will provide information on the location and behaviour of the sharks during the summer when they can be seen feeding in large numbers at the surface. They will also track the sharks for several months afterwards, helping scientists understand if the sharks travel to deeper water around Scotland and further afield over the winter.
The tagging work took place in the waters around Coll and Tiree, and the small island of Hyskeir, near Canna. Research has shown these areas are hotspots for basking sharks, with consistently large numbers sighted there during the summer months. Even though basking sharks are seen in many places round Scotland, displays of social and courtship behaviour, such as breaching and following each other nose-to-tail, have only been observed in these areas, suggesting they are important for key stages in the life cycle of the sharks.
Dr Suz Henderson from SNH, who is managing the basking shark tagging project said: "We're really lucky to have the world's second largest fish visit our waters every summer but we know very little about their movements throughout the rest of the year. We want to know how the sharks use the waters between Skye and Mull and how long they remain in the area. We'd also like to find out how important this area is in the life cycle of the sharks, and if some areas are used more than others. The results from this project will help to answer these questions.
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