BASKING SHARKS
Plankton-sieving gentle giants
By Susanne Masters
Appearing in the manner of the Loch Ness monster, from land or boat emergent tips of dorsal in, tail in and snout are often visible on the surface when basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) are in the sea. Underwater you can see up to 12m of body length between snout and tail in. Reaching that size on a diet of microscopic creatures – plankton – takes decades. However they have mastered the art of passive eating. By slowly swimming with their mouth gaping open they can filter 1800 tonnes of water an hour while sieving out the plankton.They are certainly sharks that do not consider people to be edible.