The basking shark in Scotland - Denis Fairfax

"Gentle giant" of the seas, the basking shark, the largest fish in Scottish seas, is nowadays often in the news as conservationists press for its legal protection. But at two periods in Scottish history it was hunted for the sake of its liver oil, first used as a lamp fuel, then later as a source of industrial chemicals. In very recent years hunting of the shark resumed with its fins (for the Asian market) being the main prize.;Here the history of the fishery for the shark, with its varied guns and harpoons and small oil-processing factories, is fully treated. Also covered is the anatomy of the basking shark and its biology in so far is it is known, as there is still much that is unexplained about the life of this enormous plankton-eating fish. Its scientific history is treated extensively, including its description by the Norwegian Bishop Gunnerus in 1765 and the Lock Ranza specimen featured by Thomas Pennant in his "British Zoology" and the scientific sensation of the 1808 "Stronsay Monster". The Carradale incident of 1937 when an encounter with a basking shark led to the drowning of three people is fully described, and the efforts now being made to find out more about the sharks's habits as the basis for a proper conservation policy are outlined. The many Scottish names for the shark are listed.