• Economics
• Education
• Environment
• Climate
• Conservation
• Basking Sharks
• Reporting a Sighting
• How, Where and When to Watch
• Code of Conduct
• Recent Sightings
• Fin Photos
• Biology & Behaviour
• Exploitation
• Your Basking Shark Stories
• Basking Sharks for Kids
• References
• Contacts & Websites
• Acknowledgements
• Manx Bird Life
• Manx Wildlife Trust
• Nature Reserves
• The Wildflowers of Mann Project
• Land Use
• Law
• Linguistics
• Organisations
• Government & Politics
• Society

How to Report a Basking Shark Sighting.

Information provided by the public has proved invaluable in the study of basking sharks [8,33]. Many people see basking sharks from boats or from the shore. Please report your basking shark sighting in one of the three following ways.

1. Fill in the online Manx Basking Basking Shark Watch form by clicking on our NEW WEBSITE www.manxbaskingsharkwatch.com his will place your sightings information straight onto the new website. You can also put up to 3 photos on. This information will be sent to the MCS database every month. This is the BEST way of doing it. You will need to register the first time and thereafter it will be MUCH easier for you to put on subsequent reports.
2. Phone 01624-801345. Follow the instructions, someone will ring you back and get full sighting details.
3. Use the Manx Basking Shark Watch Form (available by clicking here) and post it to Manx Wildlife Trust.
4. If you see a cetacean (whale dolphin or porpoise) please report it to Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch, either directly on line at www.mwdw.net or ring John Galpin on 01624 844353. The information will be posted online and sent to the UK organization Seawatch Foundation.

More details below.

The general public can contribute information about them from a large geographical area and over the whole year. Anyone can report a shark to The Manx Basking Shark Watch. You do not need to be a scientist; any observant man woman or child can contribute. Almost every article about basking sharks starts off with a statement that "Not much is known about basking sharks". In fact rather a lot is known about them but there are some large gaps in this information. Some of the most difficult things to assess by the usual expensive scientific survey are the size of the population, their behaviour and their seasonal movements. It is easy for the valuable information about basking shark sightings by the general public to become 'lost' if it is not reported to a central body such as the Marine Conservation Basking Shark Watch. Simple observations can become important data when it is all brought together in one place. This is YOUR opportunity to contribute to the growing knowledge base about basking sharks via the Manx Basking Shark Watch.

The UK Marine Conservation Society Shark Watch project has been gathering information about basking shark sightings from the general public since 1987 [23]. This has been a great success and as a result the overall picture of the seasonal distribution, numbers and behaviours of basking sharks off the British coasts has become much clearer. A copy of the full basking shark watch 1987-2004 report [23] which was compiled with basking shark sightings information from the public, is available for £5.00 from the Marine Conservation Society. A summary is available free of charge. Further reports are due out soon [8].

Anyone can easily be trained to spot the key features of basking shark sightings, such as-

• Is it definitely a basking shark?
• How long is it?
• Does it have any special identifying features such as a scarred dorsal fin?
• How many are there?
• What are they doing and for how long?
• Where are they and at what time?

There are several ways to report basking shark sightings to the Shark Watch project.

1. Print off the Manx Basking Shark Watch Form and post to Manx Shark Watch, the Manx Wildlife Trust Offices, Tynwald Mills, Isle of Man. IM4 3AE. Please return forms promptly to enable the websites basking shark notice board and the phone message of recent basking shark sightings 01624-801345) to be kept up to date.
2. Pick up one of the Manx Basking Shark Watch forms from the Manx Wildlife Shop at Tynwald Mills, the Tourist Information Centre at the sea terminal, local libraries, local yacht clubs, the harbour masters office or from the town commissioners office. If you look at the Manx Wildlife Trust information board at Fenella beach, (near Peel Castle) you will find a list of local shops which have the forms. There should be some at the Peel Breakwater kiosk, Peel Promenade kiosk, The Framing Workshop, Peel, The Leece Museum Peel and at Kelvin's Tackle Shop, Market Square, Peel. When you have completed it please post it to Manx Shark Watch, the Manx Wildlife Trust Offices, Tynwald Mills, Isle of Man. IM4 3AE.
3. Phone the Manx Shark Watch reporting line on 01624-801345 and leave your name, number and the rough position and time of your sighting. Someone will get back to you ASAP. Your information will be put on the website and reported to the MCS Basking Shark Watch. Your information must be complete, especially the time, date and place of your sighting. This is to ensure that when Manx Basking Shark Watch receive sighting forms from many people we can recognise when it is the same shark or group of sharks.

Manx Basking Shark Watch Form . (150kb - Adobe Acrobat document)

Reporter Howard Cain from the local radio station Manx Radio, has expressed an interest in reporting basking shark sightings on the radio. His e.mail is howardcaine@manxradio.com Please ALSO report it to Manx Basking Shark Watch. Howard will not forward sighting details to us!

Next section (How where and when to find a basking shark)