We just added a basking shark expedition to our trip itinerary for the 2022 season. This is a trip I have wanted to do for years, and we finally decided to set it up. Basking sharks are the second-largest fish in our oceans and one of the most mysterious. Sadly, this species was decimated by fishermen who wanted their livers for oil and because they were considered a nuisance shark.
Commercial fishers paid money to have these sharks killed on the East coast because the basking shark kept damaging their boats and nets. Basking sharks are filter feeders, so they swim on or near the surface, ram feeding for plankton. The sharks would often get caught in gill nets or hit the fishing boats causing financial damage. So they would kill every shark they would find. They nearly wiped out the entire East Coast population of these sharks in the process.
Thankfully these sharks finally won some protection, and since then, their numbers have been on the rise. They are still nowhere close to recovering, but they are on their way. Only a few places left where you can see them, and the Isle of Coll off Scotland is one of them.
Images courtesy of Chris Knight
I am very excited about going there and finally getting in the water with them. I am also enthusiastic about the other activities we will be doing once we are there. There are sea otters there, grey seals, and a healthy puffin colony that nests in the area. I have wanted to see puffins for a long time, so pumped that we will have a chance at them as well. We will try diving with them as well. They are a diving species, so trying to capture underwater images of these birds along with guillemots underwater will be a lot of fun. So if you are interested in joining us for our first Scottish wildlife adventure, visit our expedition page for more information.