Basking Shark Watch- I.O.M

I've recently moved to the Isle of Man after returning home from south east Asia. I'm waiting for an operation to fix my knee (ruptured ACL). While I'm waiting though it's been great to move to the island. Being by the sea and my girlfriend makes the waiting far more enjoyable. 

Basking sharks, which are the second largest fish in the ocean, pass through the Isle of Man following thermal fronts which provide an abundance of planktonic food. Sadly they are listed as endangered on the ICUN red list due to hunting, bycatch and disturbance (http://www.mcsuk.org/conservation_in_action/Basking+sharks/Threats+to+basking+sharks). 

The Manx basking shark watch was established to observe the abundance of basking sharks around the Isle of Man, raise awareness of the public to basking sharks and report the importance of the island to the basking shark population. This summer I was fortunate enough to join the team of researchers on the Happy Jack (photo below) on a observation mission to spot and record any marine life observations with the focus on basking sharks. 

We set off from port st Mary in the morning. Straight away we had a radio call reporting minke whale sightings. A local fishing boat made the observation near the calf of man. We set off on the 15min journey to spot the whales. Along the way I was pleased to see the abundance of marine birds (cormorants, 

Kittiwakes and Guillemots), common and grey seals and we were even lucky enough to see a Harbour porpoise. 

Unfortunately before we made it to the calf the Happy Jack suffered prop damage. We had to return to the Harbour and cancel the mission. Maybe better luck next time.

The Manx basking shark watch has been making recordings for 10 years. This year will see the release of a ten year report which aims to highlight the importance the waters of Isle of Man has to the global basking shark population. It may be used to promote the establishment of a designated protected area for basking sharks around the island. 

Sadly, 2014 has seen the lowest number of shark recordings in the past 10 years with only 9 sightings made this summer (manxbaskingsharkwatch.com). Plankton measurements have shown that zooplankton levels are low. This maybe due to unusually warm sea temperatures. In any case the zooplankton are a vital food source for basking sharks, a major reason why the sharks come to these waters. Without this food source the basking sharks have found differant feeding waters. Tags for previous years show some individuals are further north in cooler waters.

This is a great example of how a change in climate effects biotic communities within ecosystems. Whether this years warm temperatures were caused by human induced climate change, natural cycles (possible El Niño recorded in 2014?) or mixture of both it is clear to see a change in climate has effected plankton populations which has in turn effected basking shark populations. 

To me this highlights the importance of reducing human induced changes to the earths environment. Humans are disrupting natures balance, we don't yet fully understand the complexity and intricacy of the earths ecosystem, if we continue to disturb this delicate balance we don't know what may happen around the world. Lets work together to ensure we are living on a healthy life supporting earth. 

http://www.manxbaskingsharkwatch.com