Description
This dataset details approved records from the Shark Trust's Basking Shark Project. This dataset is in part comprised of records from the Marine Conservation Society's Basking Shark Watch (1986-2018), and data provided from the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch.
Comprised of citizen science observations, records of Basking Sharks (sighted from land or at sea) from around the world have been complied to help better understand this species. Data comes mostly from ad-hoc records, with some observations recorded from more structured surveys and data uploads from partner organisations.
Data Records
The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 15,685 records.
2 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Allen H, Gordon C (2026). Basking Shark Project - global citizen science observations of Cetorhinus maximus. Version 1.1. Shark Trust. Samplingevent dataset. https://www.dassh.ac.uk/ipt/resource?r=st_baskingsharkproject&v=1.1
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Shark Trust. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 2704fce8-280f-4fca-954e-ab520e67c830. Shark Trust publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Ocean Biodiversity Information System.
Keywords
Samplingevent; social participation; Chondrichthyes; Observation
Contacts
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
- Data Analyst
- 4 Creykes Court, 5 Craigie Drive
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5108-2032
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
- Senior Conservation Officer
Geographic Coverage
Global, with a participation bias from the British Isles.
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [-90, -180], North East [90, 180] |
|---|
Taxonomic Coverage
Basking Sharks - Cetorhinus maximus
| Species | Cetorhinus maximus (Basking Shark) |
|---|
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 1986-01-01 / 2024-12-31 |
|---|
Project Data
The Shark Trust’s Basking Shark Project engages citizen scientists in recording observations of Basking Sharks from around the world. This contributes to a better understanding of this species, such as regional seasonality and key areas of habitat use.
| Title | Basking Shark Project - citizen science observations of Basking Sharks, 1986-present. |
|---|---|
| Identifier | ST_BSP |
| Funding | Historic funders include: Countryside Council for Wales, DTO Bio-Flow, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Ken Watterson, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Natural England, Project AWARE, Save Our Seas Foundation and donations received through the Big Give's Green Match Fund and through specific Shark Trust appeals and adpotion programme. |
| Study Area Description | Global, with a participation bias from the British Isles. |
| Design Description | Citizen science observations. Many are ad hoc finds, while some areas are more regularly surveyed using a standardised methodology. |
The personnel involved in the project:
- Owner
Sampling Methods
Records are gathered from citizen science observations submitted on an ad-hoc basis, with some recorders and/or partner organisations undertaking more regular, structured surveys.
| Study Extent | Data is generated from citizen science observations. Many are ad-hoc observations, while some areas are more regularly surveyed using a standardised methodology. The majority of observations are from shore based sightings, with some being from boat or air. |
|---|---|
| Quality Control | All data has been approved by a member of staff before publication. All records have undergone internal Quality Checks, with checks made against known species range and pin location checked and adjusted as required. |
Method step description:
- NA
Additional Metadata
| Acknowledgements | This dataset would not be possible without the contributions of all citizen scientists and organisations that have participated. Whether reporting one ad-hoc find or multiple records over the span of years, every record has helped build towards this combined dataset. This data is in part comprised of data from other organisations, including the Marine Conservation Society's Basking Shark Watch (1986-2021) and data provided by the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch. Data transformation and publication was funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Programme with Grant Agreement No. 101112823 (DTO-BioFlow) through an FSTP call. |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The Shark Trust’s Basking Shark Project compiles records of Basking Shark observations from around the British Isles and further afield. This feeds a better understanding of this species, allowing for insights into historic movements and sighting patterns. |
| Getting Started | This data is comprised of three tables: Event, Occurrence and extended measurements or facts. The measurementType 'WMOSeaState' describes the condition of the sea-surface, which can influence the ability of observers to spot and accurately identify sharks. The field 'identificationVerificationStatus' flags whether the record had any evidence to prove the species ID. Accepted evidence includes a photograph, specimen or expert ID and all records are approved following an internal QC process. Due to duplication of effort within the dataset from users submitting to multiple organisations or multiple users reporting the same shark, this data has undergone a quality control process whereby any assumed duplicate data (identified by being within 1km on the same day) has been removed, with the record with the highest quantity retained. If you would like access to the full dataset including duplicates, please contact conservation@sharktrust.org. |
| Purpose | This dataset feeds a better understanding of this species, allowing for insights into historic movements and sighting patterns. |
| Maintenance Description | Each subsequent year of data will be uploaded once internal QC has been completed. |
| Alternative Identifiers | https://www.dassh.ac.uk/ipt/resource?r=st_baskingsharkproject |