Overview
- Fishermen near Port-La Nouvelle filmed a roughly 10-meter shark about a kilometer from shore on Saturday in video later posted to Facebook.
- Reporters and local experts identified the animal as a basking shark, a plankton-feeding species considered harmless to people.
- A second large basking shark was reported near Collioure on Sunday following recent sightings along the Croatian coast.
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists basking sharks as threatened due to commercial fishing and demand for their fins.
- Conservation group Ailerons is urging satellite tagging and routine monitoring through its Pel-Med project and is asking the public to share sightings to support research.