Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance.
Well, as many of you may have seen across your social media feeds in the past few weeks, basking sharks have returned to Irish waters as locals on the West Coast reported sightings in the sea during the recent rise in temperatures across the country. But where should we go to catch a glimpse, not just of basking sharks, but dolphins and whales too?
Well, I'm joined now by a man who can tell us all, Pádraig Hooley, who is sightings coordinator with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. Good morning to you.
Good morning, Clare.
What are these guys, the basking sharks? Tell us a bit about them.
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Chapter 2: What recent sightings of basking sharks have been reported in Ireland?
Well, it's a magnificent beast of an animal. The basking shark is actually the second biggest shark species and therefore the second largest fish on the planet. Second only to the tropical cousin, the whale shark. And it's an annual visitor. And, you know, right now is perhaps the very best time to see them. Typically, they arrive in April.
some some specimens might even arrive as early as late march but april the big drive and then peaking around now around may and then by june the site is kind of uh tapering off and we have a second peak then later in the year around september and that seems to be focused more specifically along the west claire coast uh where they're doing something completely different but at this time of the year they're in here they're feeding and people will be glad to know that they're uh
they're feeding on plankton and krill and very, very small little animals. So they're very, very different to more predatory type sharks. So they pose absolutely no risk to humans. They're a very benign, gentle giant.
I'm glad to hear that because I recently rewatched Jaws. So when I was looking at the footage this morning of the basking shark, I felt slightly apprehensive about it, but they're not interested in us, are they?
No, not at all. And interestingly, Jaws was, of course, the great white shark. And anatomically, the Baskin shark is really similar, both in terms of size and outward appearance. The only difference is their dentition. Their teeth are very, very different. So they're not designed for killing and eating meat like great whites are. So they're more like ocean grazers.
So in many respects, we always look at them as being more like honorary whales, if you like.
And they're coming in for a feed. That's why they're here this time of the year, is it?
This time of the year, they're in feeding. And, you know, I was just looking at the statistics. We've had almost 200 sizing reports from, say, Hookhead and Wexford all along the south coast, the west coast. and the Northwest. And over three quarters of those have been reported to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group from shore. So you don't need to go out in boats.
I was watching them there with my daughter just the other day.
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Chapter 3: What makes basking sharks unique compared to other shark species?
And I would say one of them was between was almost within 10 metres of the vantage point that we were looking at them from. So sometimes they're so close to shore, you don't even need binoculars to see them. So it's a really amazing opportunity for members of the public to get out and watch one of these most spectacular animals very, very close in shore.
But are you more likely to see them on the West Coast?
Not really. The south coast at this time of the year. And it's an interesting one because they seem to arrive in big numbers in a local area. And then they'll be seen every day for a couple of days, maybe a week, and then they're completely gone. Now, whether they go or whether they just dive down deeper, of course, being fish, we can only see them when they're on the surface.
And unlike whales and dolphins, which need to come up for air, being air-breathing mammals, you have a really good chance of seeing them. But if those sharks are feeding on krill or zooplankton and they're a couple of metres down, you've absolutely no chance of seeing them because they're not going to, you know, they leave no visual cue on the surface. So you could be swimming
or the local beach and there could be a dozen basking sharks there and if the plankton that they're feeding on just happens to be a little bit further down the water column you're swimming potentially in waters that are brimming with fish the size of you know coaches or buses and you're completely unaware of the fact and it's only when that new plankton rises to the surface.
And is that the scale of them? That's the size of them is it?
Yeah, I mean we would regularly see animals now, bastion sharks, that are in the 20 to 25 foot range. Occasionally you'd get animals that are 10 meters, so you're looking at 30 foot range. And the old Hebridean shark fishermen would talk about having seen sharks that were up to 40 foot. Now that's an animal that's the size of a whale.
Now we think some of those measurements heading towards 30 to 40 foot are probably
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Chapter 4: When is the best time of year to see basking sharks in Ireland?
fishermen embellishments if you like but certainly up to 25 to 30 foot for an adult bastion shark is not that unusual and we are seeing many we're getting many of those images in suggesting animals that are comfortably within that range so they are just enormous fish now saturday week is whale watch ireland day isn't it 2026 what are people expected to do that day
Well, that's a free, it's part of Biodiversity Week, supported by our colleagues Inish, and it's a day of free guided land-based whale watches around the entire coastline of Ireland. And that's an opportunity for member citizen scientists to join the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group up on headlands and vantage points.
And we'll take you through the field skills necessary to carry out a whale watch or to count basking sharks. And we'll have optics on hand just to introduce people to the concept that, you know, you don't have to go out in a boat 20, 30 miles.
Sometimes you can just do a wonderful thing as simple as sitting on a clifftop with a pair of binoculars and watching some of the most amazing wildlife in Ireland. And it's completely free and it's on your doorstep.
What a lovely way to spend a morning or an afternoon. And I have a listener who's heading to O'Sullivan's in Crookhaven this weekend to check out the basking sharks. And we know now we've established they're going at the exact correct time of year. But how likely are they to see them in Crookhaven?
Yeah, it's all a matter of the more time you put in, the luckier you get. Like if they're in the area, passing shots are really, really obvious. You'll see that big dorsal fin and you've always got to remind yourself that sometimes people see a dorsal fin in the centre of the body and then they see a second fin behind
And they think that second fin behind is actually two sharks, but it's actually only one animal and it's only half the length of an animal. So when you see that great big triangular dorsal fin and the smaller dorsal fin, you have to ask yourself how many metres between those two and then multiply that by two. And that's the length of your animal.
And you'd be amazed how big some of these sharks actually are.
And Pádraig, are we seeing a change in the schedule that these animals are keeping because of climate change?
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Chapter 5: How do basking sharks feed and what do they eat?
Year on year, there are subtle changes. But the overall trend, especially with our larger whales, would seem to be that they are pushing further and further up the West Coast, up to places like the Sligo Coast and Donegal, which is great if you're from the Northwest and you're sick and tired of coming down to whale watching boats down on the South Coast. It's very democratic of them.
Well, Pádraig, if people see anything I know you want to know about it, and the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has a brand new reporting app, so it's easier to report your sightings if you're going out over the weekend. Thank you so much for speaking to us.
That's Pádraig Hooley from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.