Basking Shark Death/injury

[nikster]

Jonmitch,

Your girlfriend can end the speculation by saying exactly what she saw - if it was a rib on a passage coming round the headland a2b then unfortunatley it was just probably bad luck - if as your first post says it was a sea safari rib - then odds are they knew the area was a prone feeding spot for baskers - they knew based on the info i have found there have been almost daily sightings of the sharks since April - and to be honest were probably so busy trying to get punters close to the main pack that they didnt see the outside stragglers........ so then possibly hit one...

If it is the case then im sorry - but i would still name them - as they have allowed commercial pressures to over shadow their professional requirements that we should all abide by..

Accidents happen - thats for sure, but commercial accidents like this need understanding....

Cowboys and crap operators have no place in an industry that wants to maintain self regulation......

[Dunc]

After seeing this post I can't help wondering if it is referring to me. I run sea safari trips from Penzance and on Bank Holiday Monday just after 12 we did narrowly miss a basking shark out by the Runnel Stone. We were returning to Penzance and cruising at about 19-20 knots. The basking shark broke the surface just in front of us and off our starboard side. We passed by the shark and we definitely did not hit it as at the very least there would have been a bang and the boat would have juddered. Also we (myself and passengers on board) witnessed the shark pass by us. As soon as I saw the shark I throttled back and we drifted to a stop. We then proceeded to look around to check the shark had not suffered from our close encounter and saw it feeding across where our wake had been. We stayed long enough to visually check the shark and record its location and size before moving on as to stay longer with the shark after passing so close would potentially impact upon its behaviour.

As anyone with any knowledge about these animals knows, as often as basking sharks are on the surface they are equally below the surface and on many occassions just below it. I would never travel through an area at speed if I knew there were sharks there, as the danger to the animal and the passengers/crew on the boat is unacceptable. When we are around sharks we follow wildlife watching guidelines very closely and explain to our passengers why we are doing what we are doing and how we are aiming to minimise our impact upon the animals we are observing.

There have been regular sightings of basking sharks all along the coast from Cudden Point all the way around to Pendeen watch and beyond in a variety of locations. The sharks will follow wherever the tide and wind takes the plankton. In fact this year's South West sightings exend from Dorset round to Hartland Point.

The shark mentioned in the news article with the damaged fin was actually reported by me and the researcher was on our boat taking pictures for photo identification. The whole top half of its dorsal fin has been cut off and there is also an obvious propellor cut in its tail fin. With regards to propellor injuries, that would not be possible with our boat as we have a water jet unit. However this would not change the results of a collision at 20 knots. In fact the Scillonian Ferry hit a shark last year and reports say the whole ship shuddered. Even with their high vantage point they were unable to see the shark.

An incident like this makes you think of a number of things:
1) The consequences of a collision with an animal like a basking shark both for the animal, the passengers and the crew.

2) Are there any times I have passed over something under the surface of the water without seeing it?

3) How to avoid an incident like this in the future.

4) From a high observation points like Gwennap, some sort of flag system to indicate animals in the area would be a useful warning to boat drivers a bit like the dive flag system

I don't even know that the original post was referring to this incident as there are several other RIBs in the area, especially on the Bank Holiday weekend, but I thought I would share my own experience of it from a boat's perspective. Gwennap Head is very high up, and as other posters have said, the view from sea level is much more limited particularly if there is chop on the water. Surely no one would ever dream of deliberately running a over basking shark and there is world of difference between reckless endangerment and an accidental near-miss with the consequent soul-searching. (With regards to the comment about "cowboy operators", we have been praised by the MCA for the way we prepare and look after our passengers, and also have been used by many marine charities and research groups in the past and have future work with them.)

[bedajim]

Couple of pics taken in early August on a trip from Fowey to Lands End during the day we saw 7 sharks and they are not that easy to see from the water at speed

Look at the youtube clip and give me your views did we get to close etc

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YwpgE9C4tYg

[nikster]

Dunc,

You sound like an operator that knows the rules, and clearly with a jet boat should not give a basking shark much more than a headache if you were unfortunate enough to hit one - your idea about the flags at known hotspots near landfall is a good one - lets hope someone does something about it.......

How many other boats did you see out there at the time?

Are there any other sea safari ribs in the area?

[Andy Gee]

Originally Posted by jonmitch

SNIPNow this on the BBC website this morning........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6971053.stm

Please remember the rules if approaching these beautiful animals in your boat!!

Makes me mad. We had loads of Baskers up here last year until 5 of them got caught in fishing gear and all died. This year we have only seen 1
Andy

[jwalker]

Don't start me on fishermen, me head'll boil....

[Dunc]

Hi Nickster,
Thanks for your reply. There were a number of dive ribs running out of Penzance over the weekend, however none of them are permanently based here so I don't know who runs the companies. There is also another sea safari company who were operating over the weekend however I don't imagine for a minute that he would deliberately endanger a basking shark either as he operates under the same guidelines as us.

Incidentally we saw up to 30 sharks today all feeding along a front of plankton about 2-3 miles off running from Tater Du to Porthcurno. It's impressive to see so many so late in the year.

[nikster]

Dunc, whatever happened it seems more and more less likely a commercial operator caused the injury - based on the info coming back - so i for one apologise for jumping the gun - expect to see the sharks till at least the end of October possibly even mid November, i get the gulf stream temp data and based on historics we still have a long way to go and we are about 3 weeks behind last year in temp and depth variation... however that does not bode well for typical October storms - i predict some massive downpours and serious flooding particular in the SW and West Midlands..... not that you should ever trust a met man, and certainly not an unqualified one...... :-)

[Dunc]

Nikster, sounds like like you've got access to some really useful and interesting info. Is it from a website somewhere and if so, can you tell me which? Weather plays a massive role in our business and it would be nice to know what's coming (or maybe not, come to think of it!)

[nikster]

i will pm you with what i can - most of the good stuff is thro subscription tho - and i never offer my username and password for general use im afraid... hope you understand..!

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by nikster

your idea about the flags at known hotspots near landfall is a good one - lets hope someone does something about it.......

What a load of mince ! .... if you guys are concerned about missing a fin, 15 Yards in front of you, Whilst doing 25 kts, what chance have you, of seeing someone waving a flag on shore? I dont do 25 knots next to the shore.. do you ?

[nikster]

Bigmuz,

Lets put this into perspective.... When you go past known coastal firing ranges - you often see a monster flag normally over 500 sqft big - which can be seen from a considerable distance............ This is the type of flag and dimensions i am talking about if a sharkwatch organisation has a lookout on a cliff edge near a deepwater passage or rounding headland used for pleasure/commercial craft - and is a known feeding spot..... Get it.....!

And yes i often do 25 kts close to the shore, as part of the work i do for different agencies in different boats.... if its deep enough and safe enough and not within a speed limit area - whats the problem?

[Dunc]

Bigmuz
I wasn't doing 25 knots nor was I close into shore at that time the Runnel Stone is about a mile off. We generally cruise at 19-20 knots and sometimes we are close into shore, but then we know the area we cover very well. It wasn't a fin we missed it was a shark underwater so not visible from the surface. Watching sharks both yesterday and today I was very interestedly watching them appear and disappear while considering our near miss the other week. Even when stationery if there is slight chop on the water you don't see sharks just below the surface from a boat. I have 100's of hours experience watching these animals sometimes they are very visible and sometimes not. I think a flag system could work because it is the first thing we would look for when coming into the area. However it would only cover the area immediately around the coast watch station and I have to say this is not where the majority of the sharks have been this year.
Dunc

[jonmitch]

Hi

Been away from my computer for a while. Seems this has generated a bit of interest.

Firstly, the point of starting the thread was not to "name and shame" people or to point angry fingers, rather to just highlight the cautions we should all take in areas particularly known for wildlife, like the Rummell Stone. Last year, I almost ran over a sunfish in Plymouth Sound so "there butfor the grace of God etc."

The boat in question seemed to be observing the animals rather than on the A to B and seemed to get too close. It wasn't you Dunc. Your outfit has a great reputation and your jet rib is pretty recognisable!!

Since getting my boat, the best experiences I have had have been encounters with wildlife and its a subject close to my heart. We've just all got to be more careful.

By the way, Dunc, love your plastic bag retrieval idea on your website. Now plastic bags and fad butts. I feel another thread coming on!

Jon

[Dunc]

Thanks for the comments Jonmitch. Plastic bags and marine litter are a real sad sight in the ocean particularly when you think about the damage they can do. We pulled a fridge out the sea a couple of years a go. People seem to think it's the worlds dumping ground.
Dunc

[codprawn]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-iXwzBvdrIY

On that note the Smirnoff ad is very apt!!!