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Hi, I’m Midnite. A twenty foot basking shark weighting about one ton has been found dying on a Long Island beach. The shark which is barely breathing has no signs of injury and is assumed to be dying of some illness.
The basking shark is the second largest shark after the whale shark. The basking shark is considered harmless to humans because it feeds on plankton and small fish.
The basking shark has a cavernous jaw, long, noticeable gill slits, small eyes and hooked teeth. The shark has a pointed snout, skin covered in placoid scales and a caudal peduncle. Coloring can be dark brown to black or blue. The liver accounts for 25% of it’s body weight and aids in buoyancy.
The shark can be found in waters from 46 degrees to 57 degrees F. It will come close to land and enter enclosed bays. The shark will follow concentrations of plankton to feed on. The shark is slow moving but will migrate for food usually in groups.
The shark has been sought by commercial fisherman for food, leather, liver oil, fins for shark fin soup and cartilage for medicine. Because of it’s high demand causing a large decrease in population, it is protected in the U.K., Malta, Florida, U.S. Gulf and Atlantic waters and New Zealand.
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