Close encounters with a basking shark

By long time Corrie visitor Antonia Murphy

In Corrie again – but is it safe to go back in the water !

So here I am in Corrie – one of my favourite places on Arran. I m contemplating an early morning swim. The sun is shining and I’m pretty well acclimatised to the sea temperature having swum through the winter in and around Edinburgh. But there’s a nervous niggle holding me back… the memory of my close encounter with a large lone basking shark in this very spot.

It was a hot august afternoon. There were a couple of paddle boarders out on the water and assorted folk happily picnicking and pootling on the rocks. Perfect conditions in fact for me to have a wee dip . I had barely begun to head along the shore line about 20 metres out when suddenly my eye caught sight of something big black and ominous just a few feet from me. A huge (well I thought it was!) black sharply delineated shark fin! At the same moment one of the paddle boarders called out “Don t worry it’s just a basking shark – they don t hurt – but it is a big’ un.” If this was intended to reassure me I am afraid it did the opposite. Uttering a barrage of unprintable expletives I made frantically for the beach. As I emerged intact bystanders had gathered and were immediately sympathetic, rather than shaming, at my unseemly haste to get out of the water explaining that it was unusual to see such a large shark so close to the shore.

After I recovered my wits I checked some basking shark facts with my hosts nursing a large drink. Apparently they were quite commonly sighted in the waters hereabouts years ago but hadn’t been seen quite so close up and personal. With warmer seas and food less available they are now venturing further into the shore. Hence my close encounter.

Typically they reach about 8 meters in length – no wonder I was petrified! The fin has a strong lateral keel and a crescent shape (yep I can vouch for that). It is a slow moving filter feeder and its name derives from its habit of feeding at the surface hence appearing to bask in the warm water. They have the smallest weight for weight brain size of any shark – so not the brainiest of creatures – and so they are relatively passive. Basking sharks were commercially fished for many years but numbers have rapidly declined. They are now fully protected in the UK. Apparently they are tolerant of boats and divers and I guess swimmers too but despite these reassurances I’m not in any hurry to meet up with my lone friend again…

For more information on these huge creatures, visit the Marine Life Information Network and see also the COAST website 

And to watch a basking shark in the same Corrie waters, follow this link to the Arran Ranger Service Facebook video posts

Featured image shows basking shark in Corrie. Credit Jenny Stark, COAST