23 July 2007
Ireland In Ireland illegal drift netting is believed to be responsible for the stranding of a large basking shark found dead on a Kerry beach.
The three-meter female shark was found on the shoreline at Drom East, Cloghane on the shores of Brandon Bay, wrapped tightly in the netting, according to Irish news site Independent.
The shark's mouth was fully covered in the material - a form of plastic netting used in several types of fishing including tuna and the now banned salmon drift net fishing.
National Salmon Commission member, Jerome Dowling, a member of the Kerry Anglers Federation, said he believed the incident had involved "an active drift net" used for salmon fishing, even though tuna and salmon drift netting is now illegal in the southwest.
â€We thought we had put it (the salmon and tuna drift netting using monofilament) behind us,†he said.
Basking sharks are the second biggest fish species in the world and are harmless filter feeders.
