The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
ISSN 2307-8235 (online)
IUCN 2008: T39340A10207099
Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic
subpopulation), Basking Shark
Assessment by: Fowler, S.L.
View on www.iucnredlist.org
Citation: Fowler, S.L. 2009. Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic subpopulation). The IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T39340A10207099. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.20092.RLTS.T39340A10207099.en
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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Chondrichthyes
Lamniformes
Cetorhinidae
Taxon Name: Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic subpopulation) (Gunnerus, 1765)
Parent Species: See Cetorhinus maximus
Common Name(s):
• English:
Basking Shark
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:
Endangered A2ad ver 3.1
Year Published:
2009
Date Assessed:
October 1, 2005
Justification:
The Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is a very large, filter-feeding cold-water pelagic species that is
migratory and widely distributed, but only regularly seen in a few favoured coastal locations and
probably never abundant. Most documented fisheries have been characterised by marked, long lasting
declines in landings after the removal of hundreds to low thousands of individuals. Its fins are among
the most valuable in international trade. Basking Sharks are legally protected in some territorial waters
and listed in CITES Appendix II. Compagno (1984) considers the species "to be extremely vulnerable to
overfishing, perhaps more so than most sharks, … ascribed to its slow growth rate, lengthy maturation
time, long gestation period, probably low fecundity and probable small size of existing populations
(belied by the immense size of individuals in their small schools)".
The global status of the Basking Shark is assessed as Vulnerable, with the North Pacific and Northeast
Atlantic stocks, which have been subject to target fisheries, assessed as Endangered. These assessments
are based primarily on past records of rapidly declining local populations of basking sharks as a result of
short-term fisheries exploitation and very slow population recovery rates.
Previously Published Red List Assessments
2000 – Endangered (EN)
Geographic Range
Range Description:
Basking Sharks occur in temperate and boreal oceans. In the North Atlantic, the species occurs from the
transition between Atlantic and Arctic waters (including the Gulf of Maine, south and west of Iceland
and off the North Cape of Norway and Russia) to the Mediterranean, and occasionally as far south as
Senegal and Florida. The different morphological characteristics of Basking Sharks in the Pacific and the
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic subpopulation) – published in 2009.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T39340A10207099.en
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north and south Atlantic oceans are not thought to indicate separate species (Compagno 1984), but
geographically isolated populations.
Country Occurrence:
Native: Albania; Algeria; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatia; Cyprus; Denmark; France; Germany;
Gibraltar; Greece; Greenland; Iceland; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Lebanon; Libya; Malta; Montenegro;
Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Portugal; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Tunisia; Turkey; United Kingdom;
Western Sahara
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native: Atlantic - northeast
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic subpopulation) – published in 2009.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T39340A10207099.en
2
Population
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)
Systems: Marine
Use and Trade (see Appendix for additional information)
The Basking Shark has been exploited for several centuries to supply liver oil for lighting and industrial
use, skin for leather and flesh for food or fishmeal. Modern fisheries yield liver oil, fins, meat and
cartilage.
Credits
Assessor(s):
Fowler, S.L.
Reviewer(s):
Musick, J.A. & Cavanagh, R.D. (Shark Red List Authority)
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic subpopulation) – published in 2009.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T39340A10207099.en
3
Bibliography
Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated
catalogue of shark species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Volume 4, Part 1.
Fowler, S.L., Cavanagh, R.D., Camhi, M., Burgess, G.H., Cailliet, G.M., Fordham, S.V., Simpfendorfer, C.A.
and Musick, J.A. (comps and eds). 2005. Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: The Status of the Chondrichthyan
Fishes. Status Survey. pp. x + 461. IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and
Cambridge, UK.
IUCN. 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2009.2). Available at: www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 3 November 2009).
IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group. Specialist Group website. Available at: http://www.iucnssg.org/.
Citation
Fowler, S.L. 2009. Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic subpopulation). The IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species 2009: e.T39340A10207099. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.20092.RLTS.T39340A10207099.en
Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.
External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic subpopulation) – published in 2009.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T39340A10207099.en
4
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat
Season
Suitability
Major
Importance?
9. Marine Neritic -> 9.1. Marine Neritic - Pelagic
-
Suitable
-
10. Marine Oceanic -> 10.1. Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)
-
Suitable
-
Use and Trade
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
End Use
Local
National
International
Food - human
Yes
Yes
Yes
Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Threat
Timing
Scope
Severity
Impact Score
5. Biological resource use -> 5.4. Fishing & harvesting
aquatic resources -> 5.4.2. Intentional use: (large
scale)
Ongoing
-
-
-
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Conservation Actions in Place
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Conservation Actions in Place
In-Place Education
Subject to any international management/trade controls: Yes
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cetorhinus maximus (Northeast Atlantic subpopulation) – published in 2009.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T39340A10207099.en
5
The IUCN Red List Partnership
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™