Researchers spot basking shark from Ireland three years later in the U.S.

20 Nov 2019

Researchers spot basking shark from Ireland three years later in the U.S.

Researchers spot basking shark from Ireland three years later in the U.S.Researchers got lucky! A female basking shark was seen after three years on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Here is what happened:

A basking shark was seen at Milan Head in north Ireland in June 2014.
 	Researchers attached a satellite transmitter to the shark. But it stopped working or transmitting any information.
 	Then, three years later in 2017, an underwater photographer in the East Coast of the US uploaded a picture of a basking shark. It turned out to be the same shark seen in Milan Head!
 	The researchers identified the shark by the transmitter and another device that they had attached on it three years ago.

This means that the shark travelled across the Atlantic Ocean (Transatlantic), from Ireland to the coast of North America. That's about a 6500-km long journey!

A similar incident has also occurred before. In 2008, a basking shark was seen in the Irish Sea and then later at the coast of Newfoundland in North America.

Both were recorded in a study made by the Queen’s University Belfast and Western University Ontario in October 2019.
 	This information will help researchers know more about the basking shark and its travelling and living habits.

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Comments: 2

virajdeswal says:

21 November 2019 at 8:26 am

very good news

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- Atu says:
  
  22 November 2019 at 10:56 am
  
  Dear Viraj
  
  Yes, indeed it is good news. Such studies are important to understand the world around us and all the creatures that live alongside us.
  
  Stay curious!
  
  Log in to Reply

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