Facts about Basking Sharks

Basking Sharks Basking sharks are the second biggest fish in our oceans. Growing to a massive 40 feet long, they prefer to 'bask' in the upper layers of the water, which can give you quite a fright when all you see is the dorsal fin gliding through the sea. Basking sharks do not attack humans, and so you should be quite safe around one. What you may have trouble seeing from above the surface of the ocean is its huge mouth, opened wide, to allow it to filter plankton from the water around it. A basking shark can filter the same volume of water that would be used to fill 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools, in just one hour. It 's mouth opens wider than most fish, allowing sea-water to pass over specially adapted organs within its mouth, known as gill-rakers. These membrane-covered projections allow water to pass straight through, but retain small marine organisms like plankton. When it swallows, all the trapped organisms are swallowed too, and this is what sustains them. For more information: http://www.oceans5dive.com