Watching Basking Sharks

From Trevor Potts

During last week I watched basking sharks twice, taking some spectacular pictures. The second set of photos were taken on Thursday in the early evening. I had been out fishing and also hoping to see the sharks again but they proved elusive until I was on my way home from Ardmore Bay. Ardmore Bay on the north coast of Mull is 3 miles from Ormsiagbeg, which is on the west side of Kilchoan Bay. I was about a third of the way home when I spotted them, only three this time, I had seen up to six of them on Tuesday about 1 mile to the west.

There are some simple tips on wildlife watching/photographing from a boat. Treat all wild animals with respect: you are entering their domain. They are in charge, you do not want to provoke the classic fight/flight response. Approach very slowly and quietly and preferably with the sun behind you. Stop frequently and watch from a good distance - 50m or more - and observe their behaviour. If they do not like your presence they will just dive and disappear very quickly. Enjoy the moment and watch their behaviour without the camera. Be patient, eventually you can move in closer at very slow speed, do not aim directly towards the animal or from directly behind.

My 10 years experience of whale, seal and penguin watching off the Antarctic Peninsula has taught me that patience is generally rewarded. Whales have good hearing and are less spooked if the boat engine is left on tick over out of gear - they then know exactly where you are. They sometimes disappear if the engine is suddenly switched off. I don’t know how well a Basking Shark hears but I felt they were less inclined to move away with the engine off, and frequently turned and swam gently towards the boat.

During nearly two hours with three sharks I only moved position about four times, and that was mainly to get the sun behind me. The sharks were feeding in an area of no more than about 400m square. After moving into a position with the sun behind me and switching the engine off they often turned and swam directly towards the boat, sometimes going under the boat and sometimes veering off to the side. One of the sharks had a very floppy dorsal fin, possibly after a collision with a boat. Another one had a large nick in its tail fin, almost certainly a propeller cut. That shark also had what appeared to be three sets of fishing lines trailing from fish hooks stuck in its dorsal fin - yes I was that close.

My engine had been switched off for at least 15 minutes, when the shark gently brushed alongside the boat. At that point I had put my camera down and was just enjoying an incredible, unforgettable experience.