SCIENTISTS are uncovering the secrets of a reclusive ocean giant after dissecting a rare basking shark at Portland on Tuesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Experts rushed from Melbourne Monday afternoon after trawler Castella Rosa made the accidental catch in waters off Portland and donated the unusual discovery to Museum Victoria.
Despite being the second biggest ocean fish, Museum Victoria’s senior curator of ichthyology Martin Gomon said little was known about the shark.
“These rare encounters can provide many of the missing pieces of knowledge that help broader conservation and biological research,” he said.
The shark was craned off the trawler and was measured at 6.3 metres and weighing in at two tonnes.
Tissue samples, stomach contents and vertebrae have been taken to give researchers more information on genetics, diet and history.
The head and fins have been transported to Melbourne to build a full-scale model of the shark.
Dr Gomon said requests for samples, images and data were already flooding in from scientists across Australia and the world.
The basking shark is more common the northern hemisphere, with southern populations rarely seen and even rarer in museum collections.
Museum Victoria has only encountered three animals in more than 160 years. Its current collection of basking shark specimens is more than 80 years old, with some samples dating back to the 1800s.
Museum Victoria senior collection manager of vertebrate zoology Di Bray said basking sharks were slow-moving, gentle plankton feeders that used their huge mouth to trap tiny plankton and jellyfish.
They grow to 12 metres long but, unlike other sharks, have thin weak jaws lined with small two millimetre-long teeth.
Ms Bray said there had been sightings of the rare shark in recent years, but the population of basking sharks was still unclear.
“These animals have been sighted live over the years in Victoria, including one recently being filmed feeding in Western Port Bay,” she said. “As they do not need to breathe air like whales and dolphins, they are not so commonly seen at the surface.
“We have no idea of what their numbers may be”.
Ms Bray said the museum was grateful for the donation.
“We’re really grateful to the skipper and crew,” she said.
“It was caught by accident and it’s fantastic they have donated it to us.”
Globally, basking sharks are listed as being vulnerable, only recently being protected from fishing pressures.
