Western and Queen’s University Belfast discovered the second recorded evidence of transatlantic movement of a basking shark, the second largest shark on the planet.
Images of a female basking shark were captured by an underwater photographer off the coast of Cape Cod nearly three years after it was fitted with a satellite transmitter at Malin Head, Ireland. The finding were published in the most recent Journal of Fish Biology.
The sighting proves the need to take a global approach to conservation efforts of the species.
“For this animal to show up across the ocean three years after it was tagged in Ireland highlights that we really need an international mindset when seeking ways to conserve this species,” Queen’s University Belfast researcher Jonathan Houghton said.
This is only the second recorded instance of a basking shark making such a long trek. In 2008, a female basking shark tagged with a tracking device moved from the Irish Sea to the coast of Newfoundland.
“In the era of big data, it is amazing how much these fortuitous re-sightings of individual animals can tell us about an entire species,” co-author Paul Mensink said.