Rare Occurrence of the Young Basking Shark Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765) in the Northeastern Mediterranean

One female specimen of Basking shark Cetorhinus maximus (TL - total length = 245 cm; W - weight =
75 kg) was incidentally captured by a bottom trawler at a depth of about 25 m on 20 March 2014 from
the off Yesilovacık coast (Mersin Bay, Turkey). Morphometric measurements presented in this paper.
The present article reports the young occurrence of C. maximus in the northeastern Mediterranean,
Turkey. The basking shark was not very abundant throughout the eastern Mediterranean Sea. This
species is infrequent in the northern part of the Mediterranean, Turkey. The occurrence of this species
not only extends the geographical distribution of its known range but also represents the first
presentation of a young female specimen from the northeastern Mediterranean (Mersin Bay, Turkey).
Due to their slow maturity, extended longevity, and low reproduction rate, the basking shark is
considered to be extremely vulnerable to overfishing. Their population numbers declining significantly
in the past decades. Thus, the basking shark species is currently listed in Appendix I and II of CMS,
Annex I of the CMS Sharks MOU, and Annex I of UNCLOS.