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A basking shark cruising the shallow waters off a Cape Cod beach. |
Basking sharks, Cetorhinus maximus,are plentifull in New England during the summer and fall months. The maximum length for baskers is 30-35 feet. The only shark larger than the basker, is the whale shark, Rhincodon typus. Baskers are the second largest fish in the ocean. |
Andrew Mulawka photo |
Basking shark Cetorhinus maximus Protected species |
Below is a whale shark. The only fish larger than a basking shark. |
John Chisholm photo-Scusset beach |
A common sight in New England during the summer, a basker just cruising along. Basking sharks are plankton eaters. Basking sharks tagged here in New England have gone to the Carribean and Brazil for the winter months. -------Paul Wojciak Photo |
Whale shark, Rhincodon typus |
Because basking sharks size, body shape and fins; are similar to that of a white shark, baskers are often mistaken for a white, Carcharodon carcharias. Both baskers and whites are in our area at the same time. The chart on the right shows a comparison of both species, and the middle diagram is the two body shapes superimposed. Notice the distance back from the pectoral fins to the start of the first dorsal. The white's dorsal is close to the pectorals and the baskers is set farther back. Baskers don't show a lot of white on the bottomside, as do white sharks. Baskers are more mottled and camoflaged, whereas a white is basically a two tone shark and can be more easily distinguished. A baskers dorsal fin is more rounded on top than a white's dorsal. The gills on a basker come up much farther to the top of the head. |
Basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus |
Tom Jenkins |
Notice the gap between the pectoral fins and the dorsal fin on the basker. A white shark's dorsal is much closer to the pectoral fins. |
A group of New England baskers. |
Recent basking shark tagging studies show that when the baskers leave New England, they do not go east and cross the Atlantic. They head south and some go as far south as the coast of Brazil - and stay down in deep water there. They are not on the surface during the winter months, like we see them here all summer long. Where the baskers went in the winter, was not known before these tagging studies. |