Transatlantic migration and deep mid-ocean diving by basking shark

Abstract

Despite being the second largest fish, basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) have been assumed to remain in discrete populations. Their known distribution encompasses temperate continental shelf areas, yet until now there has been no evidence for migration across oceans or between hemispheres. Here we present results on the tracks and behaviour of two basking sharks tagged off the British Isles, one of which released its tag off Newfoundland, Canada. During the shark's transit of the North Atlantic, she travelled a horizontal distance of 9589km and reached a record depth of 1264m. This result provides the first evidence for a link between European and American populations and indicates that basking sharks make use of deep-water habitats beyond the shelf edge. © 2008 The Royal Society.