THE BASKING SHARK


The basking shark is the largest fish in the Mediterranean sea and can grow up to 10 meters in length. But fear not: it only eats plankton, that almost invisible community of tiny organisms that float in water.

It arrives along the Italian coast at the end of winter in a totally unpredictable way, and then disappears: it is a migratory animal, but we have no idea where it goes once it leaves our waters.
Like most shark species, the basking shark is a threatened animal and it is protected by a series of International conventions.

In spite of this, it is increasingly rarer to meet it at sea. It can live for over 50 years and only starts reproducing at 16-20. Each animal has a slightly different dorsal fin and tail. Through these tiny differences we can tell each one apart.