Basking Sharks
When everyone thinks of big sharks, they think of whale sharks or great white sharks. Maybe it's because
of the movie Jaws, maybe it's not, but the one shark everybody seems to skip over is the basking shark. It
is the second largest shark that can reach up to 30 feet in length, and quite a beautiful one, although it may
be a little scary-looking when seeing it. I, however, find it a fascinating and beautiful shark.
Basking sharks have many qualities that make them a little scary to people. Not only are they giant, but
their mouths can open up to 3 feet wide, which might make them seem as if they'll swallow people whole.
They leave their mouths gaping in order to catch as much as possible, which makes them a little
intimidating. But, don’t judge this book by its cover, as they don’t feed on people, but rather just
zooplankton, just like baleen whales. When they open their mouths, you can see their gill rakers on the
inside, which are used to trap their meal. While their mouth is open, you can see their gill slits on the side,
which are used to allow water to flow through during this process.
As most sharks, they are known for prowling in warmer, murkier waters that tend to have more food for
them. This specific species of sharks are native to the north and south atlantic and pacific ocean, the
mediterranean sea, the sea of Japan, and around southern Australia towards New Zealand. During the
early to mid 1900s, these sharks were commonly found along the west coast in large numbers. The Santa
Barbara channel was one of the locations where you could commonly spot them during this time period.
Unfortunately, around the 1960s, they disappeared from this area. During this time, they were hunted for
their liver oil, meat, skin, and fins, which were considered valuable at the time. This could have possibly
caused them to steer towards different waters, where they were not hunted as often. It’s also possible they
dispersed and thrived better in an area that protected them more. Another possible theory is that they were
eliminated because they interfered with salmon fishing in Canada.
After that, basking sharks in the Santa Barbara channel were not seen for decades. But, in 2019, basking
sharks made a reappearance in the Santa Barbara channel. Although there had only been a couple
sightings around the West coast from the 1960s until 2019, nobody would have anticipated the numbers
that started appearing that year. Their numbers went from maybe a yearly sighting at most, to up to 10-20
sharks being sighted in the Santa Barbara channel in the span of just a few weeks. Why?
Although there are thousands of questions to why they suddenly returned, scientists are unable to lock
down on an answer to why they returned to the west coast. An article in the LA times called “Like the
‘Loch Ness Monster’: Basking Sharks return to California waters” interviewed a few people that year
talking about their sudden reappearance, and a few possible theories came up. It’s possible the
temperatures warmed up the waters that year, making them more likely to steer towards the channel. The
change in climate patterns during 2019 were drastic, and if this was the case for their return, it wouldn’t
be as surprising. With the effects of climate change, a lot of the wildlife will need to adapt to survive, and
unfortunately, this could be the only way basking sharks may survive in a new environment shaped by
pollution. It’s also possible that the rain that year caused the flow of freshwater to drain nutrients to the
ocean, causing plankton to thrive, and therefore becoming a large source of food for these beautiful
creatures. This drastic increase in their food supply could have lured larger numbers towards the Santa
Barbara channel, but there have not been any studies to back this theory up.
Although basking sharks started reappearing in the Santa Barbara channel during the spring of 2019, there
have not been any other sources revealing if their numbers are rising in the channel or if there are even
any left to begin with. The ones that were seen were given tracking devices, but although they had their
extravagant return that year, they might have taken their journey down different waters.
References
Hayden, T. (2019, December 11). The Changing Santa Barbara Channel. The Santa Barbara Independent.
Retrieved August 27, 2023, from
https://www.independent.com/2019/12/11/the-changing-santa-barbara-channel/
Hayden, T., Yamamura, J., Magargee, J., & Dinaberg, L. (2019, May 15). Basking Sharks Are Back in the
Santa Barbara Channel. The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved August 27, 2023, from
https://www.independent.com/2019/05/15/basking-sharks-are-back-in-the-santa-barbara-channel/
Johnston, E., & Hendry, L. (2019). Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus). Natural History Museum.
Retrieved August 27, 2023, from
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/basking-shark-cetorhinus-maximus.html
Reyes, A. (2019, May 7). Like the 'Loch Ness Monster': Basking sharks return to California waters. Los
Angeles Times. Retrieved August 27, 2023, from
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-basking-sharks-comeback-20190507-story.html
Spector, P. (2019). We're gonna need a bigger boat | Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. National
Marine Sanctuaries. Retrieved August 27, 2023, from
https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may19/basking-shark-tagging-channel-islands-national-marinesanctuary.html