Shark-Cast

Ben & Evan join Fiona and Shane at BSS HQ for a quick catch up. We get jealous hearing about what the boys were up to over the winter in Australia & Guatemala. Then what they are looking forward to this season.

After a little break we're back again as we gear up for another basking shark season! Following a chat at the excellent Basking Shark Symposium, we chat to Jean-Luc Solandt from the Marine Conservation Society. We chat about his work getting the basking shark protected from a loop hole that allowed them to be caught and landed under bycatch. Following an incident where a basking shark was caught in the Bay of Biscay, landed in Milford Haven, then transported to Bordeaux in France to be sold! Jean-Luc now works in MPA's and we have a chat about basking shark protection, migrations and the usual tangents on all things basking shark. Oh and find out why his favourite fish is a titan triggerfish! Find out about the MCS here - https://www.mcsuk.org/ [https://www.mcsuk.org/]

Shane talks to Ben & Evan about their season so far. Joining in April for the first time they've had a stellar season. Lots of wildlife sightings including John Coe & Aquarius, fin whales, epic minke interactions, swimming with basking sharks. Along with our amazing trip to Mingulay & St Kilda and adventures around the Inner Hebrides.

Yes they do! Rachel & Shane talk about the common question that we are asked. Do basking sharks breach? They are the biggest shark/fish in the world to do so and there has been a couple of recent studies that have measured speed and other parameters. The researchers found that the speed basking sharks attain when they breach is similar to that of white sharks.  It is suggested that they breach for communication or courtship. Removal of parasites has also been suggested but perhaps more likely to be an ancillary benefit to the behavoir. Have you heard of the Carradale incident? Britain's only recorded death by (basking) shark attack. Listen to find out more!

Shock! We diverge away from basking sharks in this episode! Well....we mention them a few time! We don't just love basking sharks, there are loads of other sharks around the Scottish coast. Including some local favorites such as the flapper skate and spurdog. Two species our guest James, has written papers on. His study was instrumental in setting up the Loch Sunart to Jura MPA for flapper skate.  The spurdogs are also close to Shane's heart as run a pioneering scuba dive to interact with them around Oban. We hear about James's study on them, how they are doing as a species and how important Loch Etive is to them.  As we are all shark fanatics our chat heads down the shark worm hole and we end up talking about all sorts of sharks that we can find around the coast. Including Tope, Porbeagles, Blues & Threshers. This is a brilliant episode to chat about all the different sharks on our coast that you might not have heard about!