Known for 'basking' in the sun, this friendly shark is the second largest after the Whale shark.
Basking Sharks are impressive migrators, historically found in all of our ocean's temperate zones. Although fished aggressively in past centuries, today the Basking shark is most commonly found in the waters off New Zealand, Canada and Ireland.
Like his cousin the Whale shark, the Basking shark is a filter feeder, relying on Zooplankton and small Invertebrates as its main source of nutrition.
Reaching sizes of up to 10 meters, these sharks are gentle giants, known to swim slowly and near the surface of the water. Characterized by their docile nature, Basking sharks are an easy fishing target, and they are still hunted for their flesh, fins, and the gallons of oil produced by their livers.
Basking sharks equipped with research tags have proved to scientists they can swim across oceans and cross equators along their journeys. They have also been seen breaching and swimming nose to tail in what is thought to indicate mating behavior.
With fewer than 8,000 female Basking sharks left in our oceans, scientists are hurriedly trying to learn more about these mysterious creatures. Some believe they could become indicators of climate change given they are constantly following, searching for, or feeding on a great indicator of eco-system health, Zooplankton.
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Logs & Blogs
Traveling from Barcelos to Santa Isabel
Dec 4, 2011
November 26th-30th
After our adventure into the jungle and up the Tepuy, we’ve had a relaxing few days on the boat. We stayed in Barcelos for 2 days, and are now travelling up the Rio Negro again.
In Barcelos we spent some time wandering the town and around the streets. We saw where people lived, in shack-like buildings, sometimes made of brick. Although the area looked poor, people seemed happy. They were friendly, saying ‘bom dia’ (good day) and allowing us to take photos. The children here are stunning. They have absolutely beautiful smiles, and are shy but interested in these tall folk walking around pointing cameras at them. Motorbikes and bicycles drive past, sometimes with up to 5 people on them.
Around the waterfront sit boats of all different types. There are the large ferryboats, with enough space for people to hang their hammocks for the journey, and the smaller family boats, no bigger than 4-5m long but will be home for families. These boats have so much character, with roofs made of all different materials including woven palm leaves, tarpaulins and corrugated iron, and the wood they are made of is often painted different colours. A lady sat weaving a brightly coloured mat, and in another boat, a parrot holding a plastic container nibbled at what was inside of it. Between the boats, children splashed in the water while their mothers washed clothes.
Leaving Barcelos and returning to the sights of the river was a good feeling for us. The views of the river with thick jungle along the banks, reflecting perfectly into the still water below, have become familiar to us. We occasionally see locals in their boats, fishing or moving downstream to other areas.
As we go further up the Rio Negro we have seen more and more islands in the river. Spotted along the river are also large boulders, some becoming small islands supporting plant and animal life. Miguel, our guide, says that on each island lives a family. The rocks are beautiful, smoothed by river creating eddies and whirlpools around them. Navigating this area is more difficult, and we will only travel during the day.
On Wednesday the 30th we arrived in Santa Isabel. A smaller town than Barcelos, it appeared tidier. We had a short amount of time ashore so split up and wandered around, taking in the sights. Cara came across a young girl, a parrot perched on her hand. The shy girl let us take a photo of her and the bird, and we were aware the parrot wanted our fingers!
On a trip with Miguel in the small boat, we saw some wonders of the river close up. The locals use ‘fish traps’ – fences made of tree branches to capture fish. The fence creates eddies in the water moving the fish coming downstream up a ‘funnel’ where they are then trapped. The locals will then go down and pick up the fish by hand! They look beautiful as they are made of natural materials, but stand out from the forest being a man-made structure.
That afternoon we continued our journey up river towards Camanaus – the port for Sao Gabriel, where the Appurisaua will stay while we venture further north.
~Team Amazon
