IRELAND'S northernmost tip, Donegal's Malin Head, has been identified by marine scientists as one of the top European "hotspots" for basking sharks, writes LORNA SIGGINS

The location was confirmed recently by researchers who aim to develop a biodiversity action plan for the world’s second-largest fish in Irish waters, under the auspices of the Irish Basking Shark Study Group (IBSSG).

Researchers also believe that reported sightings of breaching whales off this coast may in fact be basking sharks.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s (IWDG) Padraig Whooley has noted that an increase in sightings of the shark off Ireland in the last three years has coincided with an increase in reports of breaching whales, often cited as humpbacks.

Currently, the basking shark is not protected under Irish legislation, through the Wildlife Act, although there is an EU moratorium on catching or landing the fish as a by-catch. It is protected in Britain, and there are plans to extend this legislation to Northern Irish waters.

The IBSSG’s inaugural meeting in Greencastle, Co Donegal, late last year, welcomed the Northern Irish initiative, and heard the results of research carried out during 2008 and 2009.

The project, led by Dr Simon Berrow, of the IWDG and National Parks, and Wildlife Service (NPWS) ranger for Inishowen, Emmet Johnston, used visual tracking and satellite tagging to gather data on population numbers and movements. It was funded by the Heritage Council.

During one particular trip off Malin last June, the team witnessed a full breach by a basking shark, five times over, less than a mile from shore.

The research also showed that basking sharks are active throughout winter and do not hibernate, as previously thought – travelling a distance of almost 10,000km in 82 days in the case of one which was tagged in the Isle of Man in 2007 and travelled to Newfoundland.

Hunted off the south coast by Norwegians until the 1980s, and off the west coast for the Achill fishery in the 1950s and 1960s, the basking shark is known among coastal communities as the “sunfish” due to its habit of swimming just below the surface.

It is also known as “liop an dá” (unwieldy beast with two fins) or more generally “liabhán mór”, signifying a great leviathan. Berrow believes the most evocative Irish name for it is “liabhán chor gréine” – the great fish of the sun.

The plankton-eating fish is distinctive for its open mouth. It has been estimated that a seven-metre shark, cruising wide-mouthed at a speed of two knots, will filter 1,484 cubic metres of sea-water per hour.

The IBSSG involves scientists and environmentalists in the State and private sector. It believes that a biodiversity action plan for basking sharks is “currently the most apt method to develop a political impetus in Ireland for gaining future legal protection out to our 12 nautical mile limit”.

More information is available on baskingshark.ie.