Shark tagging project extended 15/3/13
Scientists are to extend a popular basking shark tracking project for another year.
For the last seven months the public have been able to follow the progress of eight
of the giant sharks online, after they were tagged off the west coast of Scotland
in July last year. Two of the sharks have travelled much further than expected, with
one reaching the west coast of Portugal and the other the Canary Islands, just off
Africa, a distance of more than 3000 km.
The project was started by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the University of
Exeter (UoE) to find out more about the life cycle of basking sharks that gather
in large numbers around the islands of Coll, Tiree and Canna every summer.
Another 29 sharks will be tagged this summer with various tracking devices, to gather
more information on how the sharks use the area and where they go in winter.
The work is part of a wider programme of marine research led by SNH and Marine Scotland,
to help Government and others plan for the sustainable management of the sea. Results
from the tagging project will help the Scottish Government decide whether a Marine
Protected Area should be put in place to safeguard the sharks and balance environmental
interests with industry and recreation.