Video shows basking sharks swim along Galway coastline
Basking sharks have returned to Galway this week as locals reported sightings in the sea during the sudden rise in temperatures across Ireland.
As the country enjoys warmer climes, so too have the basking sharks as they swam over to the Wild Atlantic Way over the past few days.
The sharks are well known for venturing towards the Emerald Isle around this time of year when the ocean waters warm up along the west coast.
A video of the sharks returning to County Galway was captured in bird’s eye view by Roundstone Bay and Island Boat and Food Tours, who spotted one feeding along the coast in Connemara.
They said: “I got a shout from my cousins to let me know the sharks are back by Murvey moving towards Dog’s Bay, so hopefully we will get them along the coast for tours today.
“I had a run back to chance spotting them with the drone and sure enough, I got a large one feeding along the coast.”
Basking sharks are huge, harmless filter-feeders that gather in Irish waters from April to August. As a result of over-fishing, basking sharks became a globally threatened species with a high risk of extinction. In 2019, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the species as ‘endangered’.
Irish waters constitute one of the most internationally important coastal regions for the species. They are officially protected in Irish waters under the Wildlife Act.