National Legislation
United Kingdom (and its territories)
- Full protection from intentional capture or disturbance in British waters (up to 12 miles offshore) under a 1998 listing on the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), Schedule 5.
- Listed under CITES Appendix III in UK waters.
Isle of Man (UK Crown Dependency)
- Protection in a 12 mile radius around the Isle of Man.
Guernsey. Channel Islands (UK Crown Dependancy)
- Fisheries legislation strictly protects the basking shark around Guernsey.
Florida State Waters, USA
- On the southern edge of its range in Florida, the basking shark is fully protected in State waters (nine mile limit on the Gulf coast, three miles on the East coast).
Atlantic and Gulf Federal Waters (3-200 miles), USA
- Direct commercial fisheries, landing or sale of basking sharks (either by commercial or recreational fishermen) are prohibited under the US Fishery Management Plan. This prohibition was enacted in order to prevent targeted fisheries from developing, recognising the vulnerability of the sharks to overexploitation.
- Shark Finning Prohibition Act (HR 5461). USA
The bill does not ban the sale of fins, but prohibits landing or possessing them in all U.S. federal waters without the entire shark carcass.
New Zealand
- The Fisheries Act (1983) bestows partial protection on basking sharks as well as several other fish species (including some teleosts). Commercial targeting of the species has been banned since 1991, although they are allowed to be taken as by-catch. The liver and fins are landed in this way, and the fins almost certainly all exported.
European Legislation
Except for the basking shark, white shark and dogfish, shark fisheries are not regulated under the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The CFP was revised for white and basking sharks in 2007 which has now made it illegal to land, retain on board or catch these two species in all European waters. The same applies to foreign vessels operating in EC waters. The listing of the basking shark for total protection from fisheries is probably as a result of it having been listed on the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) in 2005.
There has been some progress in attempting to reduce shark-finning activities; fishing vessels must now have the corresponding number of shark carcasses to the number of fins they are carrying but they do not have to belong to the same species of shark.
Shark protection is awaiting ratification under two European conventions:
- Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean, signed in Barcelona on 10 June 1995. Basking sharks are listed on Annex II of the Protocol (Endangered or Threatened Species) and will therefore receive full protection in the Mediterranean once the Convention is ratified and appropriate legislation in place.
- Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats has had a reserved addition of the basking shark (Mediterranean population only) to Appendix II (strictly protected species).
International Legislation
In January 2003, following a proposal by the UK government after much campaigning by MCS and similar organisations, the basking shark was finally listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This listing still allows for trade in basking shark products but requires all trade to be closely monitored and a thorough assessment of the sharks biology and ecology.
The species is listed as "Vulnerable" (VU A1ad+2d) under the IUCN Red List (2000) of endangered species. Two subpopulations, the North Pacific and the North-East Atlantic, are assessed as Endangered (EN A1ad).
Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations: International Plan of Action (IPOA) for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (1998).
In November 2005, the basking shark was listed on the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species at the 8th conference of the parties, after the UK proposed the addition (as a result of a proposal drafted by the Marine Conservation Society). This listing means that legislation needs to be put in place to protect the species in local waters to each signatory state, adjacent states through which the sharks migrate need to work together to put in measures to protect the species, and scientific research and data collection needs to involve a number of countries through which the shark moves.
Comments
Over the years basking sharks have been hunted for a variety of reasons. Flesh for food, cartilage for assumed medicinal properties, liver-oil for burning and lubricants, and fins for the Asian shark fin soup trade, have and in some cases still are, the impetus behind basking shark fisheries. Although protected in some regions (as detailed above). fisheries still target the sharks, particularly as a lucrative form of by-catch. More international protection is needed whilst so little is known of the species numbers, biology, ecology and movements. Genetic analysis to determine any levels of population subdivision currently being carried out by an international group may help elucidate genetic isolation within international populations (eg. is the NE Atlantic European population distinct from the NW Atlantic / American population?)
Current Threats
Although in some areas protection has allowed a reduction in fishing pressure, the species is now suffering from its status as a tourist attraction. Direct harassment from a curious public is an increasing threat. Collisions with boats are not unusual and, although illegal in the UK, naive but deliberate disturbance is increasingly common. The image shows the damage that propellers can cause to basking sharks. 
Basking sharks have also been known to suffer from intentional harm. The image shows a Basking shark which was found alive, stranded on the beach at Ferry side. Camarthenshire in 1995. It was suffering serious injuries to its snout and tail as well as multiple abrasions on its underside. The shark was put down by a local veterinarian who concluded that the shark had been deliberately gaffed (hooked by the head) and towed alongside a boat. 
Another threat to sharks is static fishing gear. This shark was found just in time by divers off Achill Island, West of Ireland. Its snout had become entangled in lobster pot ropes during feeding with its mouth agape. Divers managed to release the shark from the ropes and set it free.
