Basking Sharks are HERE

A Basking Shark…the second largest shark in the world has been spotted near Newquay by a local commercial Fisherman..aboard “Tis-ardly-on” …thanks Martin for the sighting!These magnificent creatures filter the equivalent of an olympic swimming pool every hour as they filter vast volumes of sea, into their enormous open mouths ,gathering up tiny zoo plankton through their gills which stick to the gill rakers and finally are swallowed down their tiny throats. At this time of year the plankton is at the sea surface so we can spot for them as their large Dorsal fin and tail fin break water surface. Atlantic Diver will be running Snorkel trips with the sharks when we have more sightings…keep a watch on the blog for more info. We were also treated to a spectacular display from a pod of about 10 common dolphins who had a calf riding the bow wave with them…Happy birthday to our special passenger who enjoyed her special Newquay Sea Safari. We are seeing a lot of pods of Common Dolphins with young at the moment ….lucky us…its a sailors life for me!!

All trips watching/ snorkelling with basking sharks are run under the strict guide lines of the basking shark code of conduct . These beautiful sharks are a protected species under the wildlife and countryside act. We would request that all pictures taken by any one be sent to the Shark Trust with location details and date for photo ID …thanks 

for more information about the plight of basking sharks and the basking shark code of conduct please follow the following link: http://www.sharktrust.org/content.asp?did=35501