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Article: Marine Biology: The Vanishing Basking Shark
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 26, 1995
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Basking sharks, the three-ton gentle giants of the ocean, seem to
have disappeared from many coastal areas around the world, and
researchers want to know why.
The plankton-eating animals, named for their tendency to float on
the surface, grow to 30 feet or more in length. They are the world's
second-largest fish, after the whale shark.
Little is known about the basking shark's biology, habits and
population. But what is known is worrisome, according to Sean Van
Sommeran, executive director of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation
in Santa Cruz, Calif.
"We have aerial photos of the California coast from the 1940s and
'50s showing thousands of basking sharks, with hundreds in Monterey
Bay ...