Rare sighting of basking shark off Achill beach

VISITORS to Keem Kay in Achill yesterday enjoyed the rare sight of a basking shark cruising close to shore in one of Mayo's most beautiful bays.

The shark is an intriuguing sight and onlookers were fascinated.

Images were captured by Clodagh Howard.

Basking shark are the largest fish in the North Atlantic, and they once swam off Achill in abundance.

Almost 10,000 were caught between the 1950s and 1980s, according to Sean Molloy, manager of Achill Tourism.

They are docile and harmless to humans.

Populations dwindled argely due to the boom-and-bust fishing cycle. By 1984, the island's shark fishing industry ceased operations for good.

Basking sharks are listed by the ICUN as endangered in the Northeast Atlantic, according to The Irish Basking Shark Project, an amalgamation of research studies based in Ireland.