0:00:02 > 0:00:05A wild ocean teeming with life,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08the sun in the sky and a crazy dog for company.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Rubes!
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Just another day at the office.
0:00:12 > 0:00:17This is the coast of Connemara in the west of Ireland.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Some of the largest animals on the planet
0:00:20 > 0:00:23migrate through these waters...
0:00:23 > 0:00:25That was moderately close.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29And on land, the people are a special breed too.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Whoo!
0:00:33 > 0:00:36For the next six months I'm going back to my roots
0:00:36 > 0:00:37as a marine biologist,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40working for a whale and dolphin conservation group.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42You don't want to burst the intestines
0:00:42 > 0:00:45- cos it gets very messy then.- Yeah. AIR ESCAPING
0:00:45 > 0:00:47It's the chance of a lifetime
0:00:47 > 0:00:50to discover more about the extraordinary animals
0:00:50 > 0:00:52swimming off our shores.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54And it's great fun, did I mention it was great fun?
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Whoo hoo hoo!
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Fantastic!
0:01:01 > 0:01:04This week my mission is to hunt down basking sharks,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06true monsters of the deep.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08I seriously thought he was going to eat me.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11And the wildlife attacks just go on...
0:01:11 > 0:01:12Ooh!
0:01:13 > 0:01:14..and on.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19One of the slight downsides of swimming with Rubes
0:01:19 > 0:01:21is that he just wants to rescue me,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25and then every now and then he catches me a good 'un.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Attacked by my own dog.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35An inevitable part of my job here for the six months
0:01:35 > 0:01:38is going to be ranging up and down the west coast,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42so I do lots of road trips, basically.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Just bolting the RIB on the back and heading off
0:01:44 > 0:01:47and this one's down to see Simon in Kilrush.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Simon's my boss at the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group
0:01:53 > 0:01:57and he wants me to find out as much as I can about a monster fish that visits this coast.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02We don't know much about dolphins, we know absolutely nothing about basking sharks,
0:02:02 > 0:02:03you know, simple stuff.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06I mean, even the physiology, the gestation period,
0:02:06 > 0:02:07all this kind of stuff.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Basking sharks are massive.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16The biggest one ever recorded was longer than a double decker bus
0:02:16 > 0:02:18and all from a diet of microscopic plankton.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21They appear off our shores every summer,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24but we've very little idea where they go for the rest of the time.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29'Is the basking shark in trouble, is it endangered?
0:02:29 > 0:02:32'It's vulnerable according to CITES.'
0:02:32 > 0:02:33It was hunted extensively,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36its populations are thought to be depleted because of that
0:02:36 > 0:02:40and the geneticists tell us the population could be as less
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- as 20,000 individuals in the whole world, you know...- Wow.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46which I find hard to believe. But in Ireland we've actually,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49the last two or three years, we've reported an increase in sightings.
0:02:49 > 0:02:50Yeah.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53So is that because there's more on the surface,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57is there more here, what's going on?
0:02:57 > 0:03:01I've dug out some shark tags for you, at long last.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03These are tags we had made for us last year,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05for the Basking Shark Project.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09I had these made, well, a similar type made for me in 1993,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12when I tried to start tagging sharks and I failed miserably,
0:03:12 > 0:03:17and it took me 15 years before I got a tag out and that was only 2008.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20That's amazing, that the first ever sharks,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23basking sharks, tagged here was just two years ago.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27- And a fifth, after 15 years of trying to do it.- Yeah.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31If it took Simon 15 years to tag his first basker,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34what hope for me in one summer?
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Subtlety doesn't work, straight in, bang it in
0:03:36 > 0:03:40and most of the time the shark, it might kind of flinch because it's shocked with the bolt,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42I don't think it feels the tag going in
0:03:42 > 0:03:45and occasionally there's a smack of the tail
0:03:45 > 0:03:47and a cloud of water comes over you.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52The tags are a simple way of tracking where the basking sharks travel in the oceans,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56but last year Simon stumbled on a much more sophisticated research technique.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58It was when we tagged one shark,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02it kind of banged off the side of the boat with its tail fin.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04We were back at Malin Head harbour at the end of the day
0:04:04 > 0:04:06and I saw black slime on the front of the boat
0:04:06 > 0:04:09and I remembered when I was out fishing with gill netters,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13they'd say that they know when a shark's bust their net cos it's covered in slime.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16I was thinking it must have been from the shark.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18So I put it in a tube, sent it to the geneticist
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and said see if you can get any DNA from that and they could,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24which was fantastic because there was literally, up to last year,
0:04:24 > 0:04:30before we started sliming, there was less than 100 samples of basking sharks' genetics in the world.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31- (Good grief.)- Mad, isn't it?
0:04:31 > 0:04:34We're the only shark slime samplers on the planet.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Welcome, welcome to the world of shark sliming!
0:04:37 > 0:04:41I am 25% of the shark science slime samplers on the planet.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43As you said, harder to say, easier to do!
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Well, that's brilliant, Simon, thank you so much!
0:04:54 > 0:04:58This is the kit required for smearing a basking shark,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01an alarming concept, I'm sure you agree.
0:05:01 > 0:05:07The whole idea is that these are pan scourers, obviously,
0:05:07 > 0:05:13and the slime will be held in the little cells of this pad, this scouring pad,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15and in the slime is the genetic make-up of that animal.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19So, its populations, its history, it's all in the slime.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Erm, and then I'll freeze that and get it to the Galway Institute.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28Stage one, remove the head of your mop.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33This only just kind of came to me when I went past a hardware store
0:05:33 > 0:05:36and Simon of course, Simon advised me, as well,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39that scouring pads are the ideal thing.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43Stage two, is fix your scouring pad,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46in fact, d'you know what I'm going to do, I'm going to fix two.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51Don't for a moment make the mistake of thinking I know what I'm doing.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53This is all new stuff. Now that'll do,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57literally just needs to be brushed along the back of the animal.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Stage three, is going to find a basking shark.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19'I need to sample baskers, hopefully,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21'and to do so I've got to get really close to them
0:06:21 > 0:06:25'and I've got to rub the old pan scrubber thing on 'em.'
0:06:25 > 0:06:27I want to practise doing that
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and the best way to do it is from the kayak, a sea kayak.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34You get really close to animals in a kayak cos you're low, you're quiet and don't alarm them.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38- But I need to practice on a large marine organism, - REUBEN BARKING
0:06:38 > 0:06:41just to give it a go and see if I can actually...
0:06:41 > 0:06:42And that noise you can hear
0:06:42 > 0:06:46is the large marine organism I'm going to try it out on.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49An afternoon alive with possibilities.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Perfect, a perfect sample.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09'I've had a little settling-in period now
0:07:09 > 0:07:10'and a good old chat to Simon'
0:07:10 > 0:07:13and I've got a very good idea of what I need to do here,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16so what I need to do now is just get out there and get on with it.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20'Simon knows, actually, quite little about this region
0:07:20 > 0:07:24'because relatively little information has been gathered.'
0:07:24 > 0:07:26I think, I've got a sneaky suspicion,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29that Connemara is one of the richest places in Europe
0:07:29 > 0:07:31for big animals in the sea
0:07:31 > 0:07:34and I'm going to make it my mission over the next few months
0:07:34 > 0:07:36to prove that that's an absolute fact.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46'Look at that.'
0:07:48 > 0:07:52We certainly know there were so many basking sharks in the past
0:07:52 > 0:07:56that hunting them was a way of life.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Basking shark fisheries extracted a terrible toll on the basking shark.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03It's estimated about 100,000 were taken in Norway, and in Scotland,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05and in Ireland,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09and the last one to shut in Ireland was Achill Island.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13'These huge sea cliffs, highest sea cliffs in Europe,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15'which is interesting in terms of the baskers
0:08:15 > 0:08:18'because they tend to like areas like that.'
0:08:18 > 0:08:19They like these big drop-offs
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and where big currents come up against something hard, like a big cliff
0:08:23 > 0:08:27cos you get nutrients there and lots of currents. Nice bridge.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31And I'm just heading down there now
0:08:31 > 0:08:35to meet someone who was involved in the basking shark fishery
0:08:35 > 0:08:38'and just find out a little bit more about it
0:08:38 > 0:08:40'and what it was like to hunt these massive,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42'massive animals in the sea.'
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Michael Gielty is taking me to Keane Bay where the hunts used to happen.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- Left, right?- Take a right here. - Take a right, no problem.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54- Wow, that is really something! - That a lovely inlet, that is.
0:08:54 > 0:08:55Really something.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I come back here nearly every day and maybe read the paper,
0:08:58 > 0:08:59- just have a look.- Ah, lovely.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04- It's nicest of all when you're on your own, the only one there.- Absolutely.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Well, what a spot.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- Got a very excited dog in the back. He likes his beaches.- Does he?
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Ooh yeah!
0:09:12 > 0:09:18Michael and his mates would have headed out to the Atlantic waters on the traditional currach boat.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Its Gaelic meaning is "unstable" and it's well named.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27The biggest danger was being sort of thrown, thrown out of the currach.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29And could you swim then? Were you a good swimmer?
0:09:29 > 0:09:31- No, couldn't swim.- Good grief!
0:09:31 > 0:09:36And of the many men who have been fishing here, probably up to 40,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39- and I'd say there was maybe a third of them swimmers.- Really?
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Many of the old-time fishermen never learned to swim
0:09:43 > 0:09:46because they believed if their fate was to drown, then so be it.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51And how were the sharks caught?
0:09:51 > 0:09:54The sharks were coming out from left to right.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56We went along and we put irons, or chains,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58or whatever in the rock to hold the net
0:09:58 > 0:10:01and we shot the net across from right to left.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04So the net was across the sort of end of the bay, there.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Yeah, then at the end of the net we'd a small stone,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09maybe about a pound weight, to hold the net in position.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- Right, right.- And then the shark came along
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and he'd go into the middle of the net and the shore was tight,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17the shore-up was tight,
0:10:17 > 0:10:22but the other one, as he was going along, it was moving in behind him.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24So, so here we were here in the currach,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26the spears man was this side,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29this man's job was to hold the net across the stern of the currach
0:10:29 > 0:10:32and here we were here, harpooning the shark
0:10:32 > 0:10:34and if you didn't have patience,
0:10:34 > 0:10:39if you didn't get him right with the first shot, he'd play hell.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42It'd take you maybe 15, 20 minutes to get him.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44It was only the shark's liver they were after,
0:10:44 > 0:10:49the oil of which lit the street lamps of Ireland.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51The carcasses were left to rot on the sea bed.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53When you look back on it,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56how do you feel about killing the sharks now, is it...
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Oh, I'm dead sorry.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59- Oh, really?- Yeah.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01To us it was, it was, you got,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05you got to work for three months of the year, at home, you know?
0:11:05 > 0:11:09Most of the lads would come back from England for the shark fishing
0:11:09 > 0:11:13and have the three months at home with their wives and family.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16You know the poor fellas, they're doing no-one any harm
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and they only live on plankton and...
0:11:19 > 0:11:22But, but, you see, we fished way back in the '50s,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25we, we never thought fish would get scarce.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28We always thought there was plenty there for every...
0:11:28 > 0:11:30And there was then, with our type of fishing,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33And then when the bigger fellas came along.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Michael, everyone talks to me about the slime, the black slime.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39- Oh, yeah.- Can you tell me anything about that?
0:11:39 > 0:11:42I'm trying to think of it, there's a certain time of year the slime,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44when they were, when they were mating,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46that was the most time with the slime,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48and then, and when you get it on the nets.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50- Yeah.- You know, yeah, yeah.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53'It's a beautiful tranquil spot behind me,'
0:11:53 > 0:11:57but it was a scene of carnage and chaos and drama
0:11:57 > 0:12:00in the '50s, when Michael was, was doing his fishing.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Michael said some interesting things about the slime.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06If there was slime, other sharks would be drawn towards that slime.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Who knows? It's all speculation.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10That's the great thing about these animals
0:12:10 > 0:12:16and about working here this summer is that so much of it's speculation and uncharted territory,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20which is an amazing thing when you consider this is one of the giants of the ocean
0:12:20 > 0:12:23that visits our shore every year at the same time.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43While I'm here I thought it'd be nice to have some home-grown food.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46The veggies have been growing fantastically well,
0:12:46 > 0:12:47I've surprised myself.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50And they're getting too big for their boxes now.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55The plan is to have, kind of, hillocks of soil
0:12:55 > 0:12:57running right the way down the hill.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01I've got long enough here to actually grow a few veg
0:13:01 > 0:13:03and really start learning about the shore here
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and start getting the food from the shore and the sea
0:13:06 > 0:13:10and by the end hopefully be kind of self-sufficient.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13You know, be getting a lot of my food from here and from out there.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Here we go.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I'm going to have to build a fence around this as well,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21cos the one thing we do have here in abundance is hares.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Hares are very rare,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25or increasingly rare in Britain,
0:13:25 > 0:13:27and the reason is that they're all over here!
0:13:27 > 0:13:30There's some net down there, some old fishing net,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32which I'll make a fence with.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Get some driftwood, some fishing net,
0:13:35 > 0:13:40I mean, come on, start of a bit of a fence.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43It's a, sort of, a hare-shaped hole, isn't it?
0:13:43 > 0:13:45That's good.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51I'll come out in the morning and find hundreds of hares caught in the net.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Or Rubes, I'll find Rubes, like that...
0:13:56 > 0:13:59..struggling in the net! Come on.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Perfect.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Pull it tight. All this fence has got to do is keep some hares out.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16It's a HARE net!
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Now I'm planting quite late,
0:14:18 > 0:14:23so I've abandoned my plans to do bananas, avocado and coffee
0:14:23 > 0:14:27and instead I'm doing things like the salad.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Any digging needs to be closely supervised.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41It's not a bad day's work, that's not a bad day's work, is it?
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Oh, God! I've realised why I don't garden now,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47it's ABSOLUTELY shattering!
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Right Rubes, be aware of the terrible implications
0:14:51 > 0:14:55of you pogo-ing all over my new vegetable patch I've slaved all afternoon to create.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59I'm serious!
0:14:59 > 0:15:01This is serious horticulture.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02HE GASPS
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Rubes! This isn't helping, is it? Rubes!
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Does anyone else's dog do this?
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Oi!
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Not on the fence, you berk!
0:15:21 > 0:15:25The reef's just off my front door, out of my front door,
0:15:25 > 0:15:30you walk 150 yards and you've got amazing reefs
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and they're, sort of, pushing into white sand, areas of white sand,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37and it's perfect crab and lobster country.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I'm hoping to catch a few fish while I'm here
0:15:41 > 0:15:44and the reefs are teeming with crabs and lobsters.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46'Just going to put out the first of my pots.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49'Martin's going to come out and show me where to put 'em.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53'Ideally somewhere that isn't going to get me beaten up in the pub!
0:15:53 > 0:15:54'Yeah!'
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Martin O'Malley is a fisherman and powerboat instructor
0:15:58 > 0:16:01who's keeping me right while I learn the local waters.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Well, let's say...
0:16:03 > 0:16:06- Close to your house, in that kind of area there.- Yeah, yeah, I'm with you.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14So, you're saying right along the edge?
0:16:14 > 0:16:18- Yeah, if we bait it up first, maybe. - Ah yes.- Is this the...?
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Those are the fish. We thought brown trout would work well.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25- Ah yeah, bit of salmon? - Yeah, that's right!
0:16:25 > 0:16:26Oh.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29What they ARE trout? You're joking!
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Oh, I know where that's from.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36Now I should point out, by the way, there's a local girl who's helping me out
0:16:36 > 0:16:40and cos I was charging around this morning putting the boat in I said,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43"Oh, can you nip and get some fish from the fishmonger,"
0:16:43 > 0:16:44and she very kindly did.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48She's come back with smoked herring I think it is, which is very nice,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51so my creels'll be very distinctive along these coasts!
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- What's that, herring?- I think it's smoked herring, yeah.- Yeah.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Which is delicious.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58It is, yeah. It's a shame to see it going in the pot.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01It'll probably last about a minute in the pot, as well.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- Big ug... a big ugly crab hanging out of it.- Gorgeous.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Why go through all the rigmarole of catching a crab
0:17:08 > 0:17:11- when you can eat the bait? That's my theory.- Indeed.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14- OK, is that one baited? - That one's baited, yeah.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17- Just here?- Yeah.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19And we'll do one more.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21There it goes.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24I shall be fascinated to see what we catch.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Usually they're left two or three days.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30You can haul them every day if you want, or if you want,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32but the, the chances aren't nearly as good.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Oh, I think I'll, I'll give it a couple of days
0:17:34 > 0:17:38cos the other thing I'm worried about is cos it's smoked fish,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- it'll probably degrade... - Easier.- Yeah.- Quicker.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Yeah, you're better off giving it a couple,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47- two, two, three days. - Yeah, no problem.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04One of the key things to do over the course of the next few weeks,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06or indeed the next few days,
0:18:06 > 0:18:12is to get posters up in Clifden, in, just generally all around Connemara.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15To try and get people to give me a call
0:18:15 > 0:18:18when they sight a big animal in the sea.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23No-one's better than the local fishermen at doing this,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27or the local divers, or the people who get out regularly on the sea,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29the guys who run the ferries.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32That is what the fuss is all about.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36There we are, the second largest fish in the sea,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38it's filter feeding.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41It's worth getting excited about, I think, something like that,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45so I'll stick that on the poster and catch people's eye, hopefully,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49and catch their attention and give them a big old number to phone
0:18:49 > 0:18:51and just wait for the phone to ring.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Even if you don't get out there yourself,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58you can still record the sighting,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02you can still say, right, someone said they saw a basking shark in this location,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06then you build up a pattern of the movement of the animals around the coast.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15This is the extremely appropriately named Bog Road...
0:19:15 > 0:19:18on a bleak day.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22It's been really honking, this mizzle coming in from the Atlantic.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24But what it does mean is it's a bit blowy,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27so all the boats are tied up alongside
0:19:27 > 0:19:32and it's a great opportunity to go and give the posters to fishermen,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35to hotels, to pubs.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37I'm meeting someone called John Brittain
0:19:37 > 0:19:40and he's with the RNLI in Clifden,
0:19:40 > 0:19:45so he is a good man to ask about basking sharks, I think.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46Hello John,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49how are you?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51The traditional wee against the,
0:19:51 > 0:19:53I'll do that in a moment, it's like...
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- Rubes, come here.- Come and have a look at the station.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00- Yes.- This is the, the station we keep the ILB1 in.
0:20:00 > 0:20:01Right.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03I always think anywhere I ever operate,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06you know, tagging programmes or anything like that,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09it's always worth sticking your head around the RNLI place
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and just sort of saying hello and...
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Seeing what's in there, in case you need anything, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Could I give you a couple of posters?
0:20:17 > 0:20:21- A number for people to call if they see a basker, or whatever. - Absolutely.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26I haven't seen any recently, except for the, the bottle-nosed dolphins.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28- Yeah.- Are you going to try and tag these?- Yes.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Yeah, cos you do the blue shark tagging as well, don't you?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34I do, yeah, the sharks, that's a very basic form of tagging,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37it's a plastic tag with a number on it and an address,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40"Send it back to the Fisheries Board in Ireland if you find this."
0:20:40 > 0:20:45The best one I had was, recapture, was down off the Cape Verde Islands,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- which I think is about 3,500 miles from here.- Yeah, yeah.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51All right, John, well, I'm going to keep charging round
0:20:51 > 0:20:52and dishing these out, so...
0:20:52 > 0:20:56- Well, I'll ring you if I see one. - Yeah, oh, please do.- Yeah, yeah.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- Yeah, yeah, that'll be fantastic. - I will, indeed, yeah.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02'I'm just wondering, I've got some posters'
0:21:02 > 0:21:06- and I was wondering if I could give you a couple to put up.- No problem. - Fantastic, thank you.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11I was just wondering if I could put up a couple of posters. That's very kind, thanks.
0:21:11 > 0:21:17Horrible home-made affairs, but just if anyone you know who might see a basking shark...
0:21:17 > 0:21:18'Was it a big one?'
0:21:18 > 0:21:20- Yeah?- Quite big.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Fantastic.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Gone in for a quiet beer and you come out at quarter to one!
0:21:27 > 0:21:30But a really, really good evening
0:21:30 > 0:21:34and the lads are really up for it, as is so often the case.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Fishermen in places like Roundstone are very hooked into the local environment
0:21:38 > 0:21:41and are very interested in the animals they're seeing
0:21:41 > 0:21:44and trying to help out in understanding them a little bit more,
0:21:44 > 0:21:50so really promising that and a great evening, thoroughly enjoyed myself.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06'Chatting to a lot of the guys in Connemara,'
0:22:06 > 0:22:11they say that one place that's very good for basking sharks is the Aran Islands.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15I brought the RIB down, it's my first visit to the Aran Islands,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17this mythical set of islands,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21and I'm just going to have a little cruise along the cliffs,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23that's the Arans,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25basking shark central.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31The Arans are three remote islands in the Atlantic.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Inis Mor is Big Island,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Inis Meain is Middle Island
0:22:35 > 0:22:37and Inis Oirr is East Island.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40'Oh, look at that.'
0:22:40 > 0:22:43I'm going to take a trip round to the cliffs
0:22:43 > 0:22:47on the western shore of the main island.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50That's apparently where all the baskers are seen.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55The problem I've got is seeing a basker in this is going to be really, really tricky.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Well, this is it, this is the western side of Inis Mor,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05the largest of the Aran islands.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08If you look at these cliffs, they just face,
0:23:08 > 0:23:13they're a buttress between the islands and the open Atlantic.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16We talk about Fortress Europe...
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Well, these are the castle walls
0:23:19 > 0:23:25and they've been sculpted and shaped over aeons of time
0:23:25 > 0:23:29into these really rugged caves and cliffs.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Really beautiful, really beautiful
0:23:32 > 0:23:36and a fitting setting for something like a basking shark,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39or a minke whale, or a humpback.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43You know, fairly regular visitors to these waters. So let's see.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Something going on ahead of me here with the birds.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55A lot of birds feeding, lots of activity.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57If all this is going on above the surface,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00you can guarantee there'll be something going on underneath as well.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05But of course it's trying to figure out what it is.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09The waves look intimidatingly massive through my binoculars, I must say.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17The basking sharks are here somewhere,
0:24:17 > 0:24:21but I'm beginning to worry it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25All I can do is keep hoping and patrolling.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34I'm trying to find a pinnacle, there's an undersea pinnacle.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35Great places for fishing.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39I marked it when I was out here on patrol one day.
0:24:39 > 0:24:40Here we go, there it is.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Let's see.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48Comes from about 70 feet of water up to about 40 feet, looks exciting.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53It's an underwater volcano spewing out fish. I'm convinced.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56There should be very happy hunting grounds.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05I've just seen this MASSIVE reef underneath me.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Oh-ho-ho-ha! Now that's...
0:25:09 > 0:25:12SPINNING REEL
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Woo! There you are, a beautiful pollock.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Look at that.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22These guys are SO successful down there,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25they're the wolves of the reef.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Probably THE most successful reef predator in Britain.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32I think the pollock, really nice-looking fish.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36I'll keep this guy and stick him in my creels
0:25:36 > 0:25:39and then hopefully he'll bring in some crabs and lobsters.
0:25:39 > 0:25:45I'm not optimistic about the creels, partly cos they're baited with trout and smoked herring.
0:25:47 > 0:25:48I do want to get
0:25:48 > 0:25:52a bit more serious about all this
0:25:52 > 0:25:55and start really trying to provide myself with some good food.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Nothing in it. It's absolutely empty so I'm going to re-bait it.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07I've sort of been playing at it, up to this point...
0:26:09 > 0:26:14..but...it'll be nice to start...
0:26:14 > 0:26:16feeding myself.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Check the other ones.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24And actually getting reasonably self-sufficient.
0:26:24 > 0:26:30Now, I'm obviously never going to be totally self-sufficient,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33there's things like milk and stuff I have to buy,
0:26:33 > 0:26:39but just a level of self-sufficiency would be splendid.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44Well, there we go, they're out fishing for me now
0:26:44 > 0:26:49and with any luck get a couple of crabs, maybe even a lobster or two
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and I'll get some people round when I've smoked some fish as well
0:26:53 > 0:26:55and have a really nice get-together, big old cook-up.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59Need to get in now, the wind's sprung up so much it's unbelievable.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14A big part of my job is responding to calls about whales and dolphins
0:27:14 > 0:27:17that have been washed ashore, dead or alive.
0:27:17 > 0:27:23Often there's nothing there by the time I arrive, but I have to check out every report.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28I've towed my RIB 3,000 miles up and down the coast of Ireland,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30chasing shadows.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34But I'm just off to Cleggan,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37to meet up with Martin O'Malley, John Brittain,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40these are great guys to get out on the boat with,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42a huge well of local knowledge
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and the first problem they can sort out with that knowledge
0:27:45 > 0:27:48is the fact that the RIB has just bounced on the trailer
0:27:48 > 0:27:52and is leaning drunkenly at a very worrying angle
0:27:52 > 0:27:55and it always ends up rubbing against the metal of the trailer,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58which is not very good for RIBs.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Cos if I lose the RIB I'm stuffed, you know.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05I can't get out on the water, I can't do the photo IDs,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07I can't do the tagging,
0:28:07 > 0:28:11and all this towing is really tearing the thing apart.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15It's tearing me apart as well. I'm knackered.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18I want a cappuccino...
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and a sofa and a flat screen, that's all I want.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25And my mum.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32John and Martin already feel like old mates, ready to help out whenever I call.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35- You were adjusting the boat? - We were, we were, I was sort of...
0:28:35 > 0:28:38- Round here that means the boat fell off the trailer!- Yes,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41I was inadvertently, the road was adjusting the boat.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45The problem is that, you know where the, like, rubber nose wheel is,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48- on the trailer that you put the bow on?- Hm.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51It's bounced and, and was rubbing on the thing,
0:28:51 > 0:28:56so I was just wondering if you could have a quick look at the hull and just see if...
0:28:56 > 0:28:59I'll show you, it was just here, and I'll just lift it.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03- Oh, yeah, yeah.- Is there anything on that side, is there?
0:29:03 > 0:29:06- Just a little bit.- Yeah, on this side it seems to be, look.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09- A bit on both sides. - Oh, it's on both sides.- Yeah.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13It's funny, you do more damage to boats trailering them around, don't you?
0:29:13 > 0:29:17It's difficult to get a nice finish on a bonding. Somebody else will do that.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19OK. Nip round the other side.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26Great stuff. Look at that.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29- You can barely notice the repair.- No.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33I mean other than it's a different colour, you wouldn't be able to see it, would you!
0:29:33 > 0:29:35And I'll probably hang on to this
0:29:35 > 0:29:39cos I suspect I'll be using it again, there we go.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43I think the plan'll be to, to get the old girl in for a...
0:29:43 > 0:29:48a bit of TLC cos she's been battered over the last few weeks.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Come on then, Rubes.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Now although it's a beautiful, beautiful day
0:30:02 > 0:30:05I do feel a slight sense of frustration.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09It's nice to be doing this but even though it's kind of a day off,
0:30:09 > 0:30:15I would be out there like a shot, patrolling for whales and dolphins and baskers
0:30:15 > 0:30:18but sadly my RIB is temporarily out of service
0:30:18 > 0:30:22cos it's just been knocked about so much over the last couple of months.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26But hopefully I'll pick it up again pretty soon and we can get back out there,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30cos look at that - these are the optimum conditions for looking for these animals.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35It's flat calm, you see the ripples a long way off, you see the sun glinting off dorsal fins.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Just perfect, and I'm off collecting winkles.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Rubes.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Oh, this is great! Get a few of these winkles.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Ah, Rubes!
0:30:47 > 0:30:50I should be out tagging five-ton sharks.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02Yeah, this is the winkle,
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Littorina spp,
0:31:04 > 0:31:11and they have a very interesting sex life, these animals.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14They change sex sometimes...
0:31:14 > 0:31:18and they have this thing of the...
0:31:18 > 0:31:21male winkle's winkle dropping off...
0:31:22 > 0:31:25..which is alarming in the extreme, I imagine,
0:31:25 > 0:31:28and then grows back next year. They've got this operculum here.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31It's a trap door they shut when the tide goes out
0:31:31 > 0:31:34and they stay nice and moist and safe inside.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37We can see this guy's coming out, cos it's high tide
0:31:37 > 0:31:42so he's been very active. He's just popped his head out and that's the part I'm going to eat.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45I was going to go for a swim,
0:31:45 > 0:31:48the water is about...14 degrees.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Fancy that, Rubes, fancy a swim?
0:31:59 > 0:32:03One of the slight downsides of swimming with Rubes
0:32:03 > 0:32:08is he just wants to rescue me, he just wants get me out of the water,
0:32:08 > 0:32:13you know, and he does it by trying to grab me, grab me with his claws
0:32:13 > 0:32:18and pull me round and every now and then he catches me a good 'un.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21He's caught me an absolute humdinger there.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Attacked by my own dog.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29Great, isn't it? I go foraging for a few winkles
0:32:29 > 0:32:32and I come back cold, wet and bleeding.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Tiny little bit of lettuce here,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38assuming Rubes doesn't try and rescue me.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Going to be a feast fit for a king, this, isn't it?
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Come on, Rubes, you big bully.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52A lovely way to cook these is white wine and herbs.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Unfortunately I haven't got any white wine,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57so I'm just going to put a bit of water, a bit of vinegar
0:32:57 > 0:33:01and a few of the herbs from the garden, and lemon, pepper.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05I'm the Blumenthal of Connemara.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09Interestingly, when they used to cook shellfish
0:33:09 > 0:33:12on the coast here, back in the mists of time,
0:33:12 > 0:33:20and I'm talking a long time ago, they didn't have cooking pots that could withstand fire,
0:33:20 > 0:33:26so what they'd do is put stones in a fire and then make a depression
0:33:26 > 0:33:31in the earth and put the stone... put water in the depression
0:33:31 > 0:33:33and then put the stones in.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36So an awful lot of places you walk round here
0:33:36 > 0:33:39have blackened stones.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43And then if you look nearby wherever there's a load of blackened stones,
0:33:43 > 0:33:47you'll invariably find a bunch of old shells,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49shells that are hundreds and hundreds of years old.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Have I got any tomatoes in here?
0:33:52 > 0:33:55These are tomatoes from the supermarket down the road
0:33:55 > 0:34:00but, with any luck, I'll have my own tomatoes by the end of the summer.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02Smells all right.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08That's what the fuss is all about, there we go.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Mm, honestly...
0:34:14 > 0:34:17that was really nice.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Quite a delicate flavour, actually.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22It's not a sort of...
0:34:22 > 0:34:25I was expecting a really strong flavour and it's not at all.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28That is really, really nice.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Great food and great fun.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36It's a good combo.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52The boat's still out of action but I need to check my lobster creels.
0:34:54 > 0:34:59So I'm going to go out in the kayak and, er...be rather clever
0:34:59 > 0:35:03and try and tie a rope around the buoy which is just there
0:35:03 > 0:35:06and, with any luck, be able to tow that in and stand on the rock
0:35:06 > 0:35:10and haul the creel in and there's another one up here somewhere.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13So it's going to be, watch this space, this could be quite funny.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Well, I started...
0:35:41 > 0:35:44about an hour and a half ago.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50Finally we've made it ashore,
0:35:50 > 0:35:55but I got a little glance at the creel and it's been opened.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Which is quite interesting cos it's either a local fisherman
0:35:58 > 0:36:03who's not happy that my creels are out here -
0:36:03 > 0:36:08I asked everyone in the village and got permission and borrowed these creels from a local fisherman -
0:36:08 > 0:36:13or, believe it or not, it could be an otter.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Otters have learned to open creels and mine are in shallow water.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20There's definitely otters around here, I've seen spraints,
0:36:20 > 0:36:22I've seen bits of old crab claws,
0:36:22 > 0:36:27so the otter has got the better of me this time. I hope it's an otter
0:36:27 > 0:36:33and not a local person cos I'd be mortified if a local guy was upset that I was fishing here.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36So somewhere on a rock, behind a rock somewhere,
0:36:36 > 0:36:39there's an otter having a good laugh.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42There we are, one opened creel.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51So, not good.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55Not good. Now I've got one more I'm going to go and check,
0:36:55 > 0:37:00just to see if that's been opened as well and, if that's the case,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03I'll go to the pub and make sure there isn't anyone who's upset
0:37:03 > 0:37:06and, if it's a small guy, I'll have it out with him,
0:37:06 > 0:37:10if it's a big guy, I'll buy him a beer and apologise.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25Don't go away.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32There's something in my creel.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39This is a spider crab, Maja squinado, which means May and angles.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41May because they appear in May,
0:37:41 > 0:37:45they have mating aggregations in May and come to shallow water to breed.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48These guys camouflage themselves.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52They put bits of seaweed and whatever, they stick 'em on to themselves,
0:37:52 > 0:37:58like a soldier with a helmet with all the stuff stuffed in it, and there's beautiful colour underneath.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02They're not really nippers, they've got this wonderful armoured shell
0:38:02 > 0:38:05with all these points on and that's a really small one.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09I could put that on a cracker, possibly, but I'm not,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12I'm going to put him back and I'll go and have a cheese sandwich.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16But lifting that second one was really important
0:38:16 > 0:38:18because I was really worried that,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22you know, maybe, as I said, some local was upset or whatever
0:38:22 > 0:38:28that I was using the pots here and the fact that the pot was shut and had this crab in it is a good sign.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32So I'm really happy about that and I think that the other one might have been an otter.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37There's so much otter activity along here and the otters open creels,
0:38:37 > 0:38:41the locals have told me about it, so there we go. I'll pop him back.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46Right, chap, off you go and grow a lot bigger. See you next May.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Come on out, Rubes - you'll get squashed.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Take a look at this.
0:38:51 > 0:38:58That's a spider crab shell that's been, probably...
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Rubes is helping me.
0:39:00 > 0:39:05That's a spider crab shell that has probably been eaten by an otter.
0:39:05 > 0:39:11It's a bit smashed up. I find a lot of them as I walk the dog along here in the morning, find a lot of these.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15I'm absolutely confident there's an otter working this little stretch,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18so, obviously, I'll have a look for him later on.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22It adds to my theory that maybe the pot was opened by an otter.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26So there we go, evidence, exhibit A.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50My association with places like this - wild places, where the mountains hit the sea
0:39:50 > 0:39:56and there's lochs and bays and inlets and incredible wildlife - started with one animal.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00It started with an animal I was fascinated with as a kid
0:40:00 > 0:40:05and I've got an opportunity to meet that animal now in a pretty unique environment,
0:40:05 > 0:40:10and get closer to it than I think I probably ever will for the rest of my life.
0:40:10 > 0:40:16Judy and Clive Lawrence run an animal sanctuary at Letterfrack, 20 miles from my cottage,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20and their latest arrival is an orphan otter.
0:40:20 > 0:40:21Hello, young lady.
0:40:21 > 0:40:26This is obviously the closest I've ever been to an otter
0:40:26 > 0:40:31and this animal is the animal that drew me to the west coast of Scotland originally
0:40:31 > 0:40:36because of the works of Gavin Maxwell and he raised the otters Midge and Edal
0:40:36 > 0:40:42and he spoke of the fact that you could kind of domesticate an otter,
0:40:42 > 0:40:44but it would always be a wild animal
0:40:44 > 0:40:48and you can just see by the look in the otter's eye here that...
0:40:48 > 0:40:50D'you want to give her a prawn now?
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Oh, yes, please. I might have one myself.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56There you go, young lady.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00The teeth are obviously fearsomely sharp.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04Maxwell wrote of having his hand bitten once
0:41:04 > 0:41:07and the teeth actually met through his hand.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11So it's a top predator, it's not an animal to be messed with.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15The whole thing Judy and Clive are trying to do here
0:41:15 > 0:41:18is gradually distance themselves from the otter
0:41:18 > 0:41:20so the otter can be released.
0:41:20 > 0:41:21Mind your fingers.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24I'm very much minding my fingers.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27OTTER SPITS AND HISSES
0:41:27 > 0:41:28- Oi!- Oh. Yeah.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31Now that's just the slight whiff of Reuben.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34I'm assuming it's the slight whiff of Reuben,
0:41:34 > 0:41:39it might be me! If ever my trousers proved their worth...
0:41:39 > 0:41:41it's having... Oh, there we go.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Look at that!
0:41:43 > 0:41:48The other thing you notice straight away, being this close, is the design.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53You can see this is an animal designed to move through water,
0:41:53 > 0:41:54very sinuous, almost eel-like.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58And that flat head and very bright, very intelligent eyes.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02And again, Maxwell always talked of this, it's really intelligent.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07This is a magical, magical moment for me to be... It's an animal
0:42:07 > 0:42:11I've seen in the distance, it's assumed almost mystical proportions for me
0:42:11 > 0:42:15and to be this close to one is unbelievable.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18She needs at least 20% of her body weight per day in food,
0:42:18 > 0:42:21so that's a kilo of food she needs every day.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23So you can imagine in the wild, you know,
0:42:23 > 0:42:28that's a ferocious rate of predation, isn't it?
0:42:28 > 0:42:31Yeah. But they're burning up their food so quickly.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34Yeah. Right, could be time for me to leave, I think.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36Right, Monty, ready.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37I'm, er...
0:42:39 > 0:42:42..with bruised ankles.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44That was a relief to get out, was it?
0:42:44 > 0:42:47No, that was amazing, amazing.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49Look at that, she's enjoying that.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53An amazing experience and it didn't disappoint me at all.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57It's like meeting a superstar, someone you've always wanted to meet
0:42:57 > 0:43:00and, often, that can be quite a crushing experience.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03I've always wanted to get that close to an otter
0:43:03 > 0:43:07and just see what made this animal so special and it wasn't...
0:43:07 > 0:43:13It's a ball of energy. It's like bottling lightning, meeting an otter,
0:43:13 > 0:43:17er, and real intelligence and amazing athleticism
0:43:17 > 0:43:21and seeing it so close, the way it moved in the water.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24It was just absolutely beautiful.
0:43:51 > 0:43:58I've just had a very excited and very exciting phone call.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01The excited part was a guy standing on a headland,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04telling me he was looking at 24 basking sharks.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06What would you call that? A fleet.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10Not a shoal. It'd be a fleet of basking sharks.
0:44:10 > 0:44:15The only slight snag is that it's Malin Head that he was standing on,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18which is the very northernmost tip of Ireland.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27The exciting part for me is obviously this is an opportunity
0:44:27 > 0:44:30to tag and possibly get in the water
0:44:30 > 0:44:33with a large number of huge marine animals.
0:44:33 > 0:44:38I'm meeting here a guy called Emmet. Emmet is the one who made the call and said he could see the baskers.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43He's a man who should know cos he's the local wildlife ranger.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46- The slipway's down here so. - No problem.
0:44:46 > 0:44:51'Emmet Johnson has worked in Malin Head for the past six years.'
0:44:51 > 0:44:55Once you get up past that headland up there, you're into shark country.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57Right, excellent.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01There's flat calm, oily calm,
0:45:01 > 0:45:05conditions are perfect. Emmet saying they've been seen all day.
0:45:05 > 0:45:10Seven o'clock at night now, so we've got about an hour, maybe, to have a little look round.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13They were here an hour ago.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19You're talking about the sort of dark things that's gone just below the horizon.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22- Could be, could be, yeah.- Yeah. I'm making the classic mistake
0:45:22 > 0:45:25of staring fixedly at exactly where you're staring.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27Not the most efficient way of searching!
0:45:27 > 0:45:32- Well, they're up and down. They're not staying on the surface at the moment.- Yeah.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35I thought I just saw something about 150 metres off the boat.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39Yes, you can just knock her back if you just want to sit and...
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Something definitely out there.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44See there? There, that's a fin, yeah, yeah.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48Yeah, there she is, there she is. 100%, that is a basking shark.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54That little glimpse of fin
0:45:54 > 0:45:59makes the whole six-hour drive, getting the boat in, worthwhile.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03Tag number 74 55 18 29 north.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07You can see why it's a sight that has raised people's emotions.
0:46:07 > 0:46:137-3-2-9-5 west, time is 7:20.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17Just go in for it, like, just... Don't go too fast.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Bring him round.
0:46:21 > 0:46:22Knock her back, knock her back.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33- Aw, sorry.- Didn't go in. No, no, it's all right.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36They're out here anyway, so that was nice to see the nose.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38That was right out of the water, wasn't it?
0:46:38 > 0:46:40Just there, just there.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42OK.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45There's one in front of you, as well.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48There's one closer. Whoa, there's one just there.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51Right, this is my last go and then you're up.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54- Just sit there, let them come.- Yeah.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57- Go in, go in.- Yeah.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01Go, go, go.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05Go, go, go!
0:47:07 > 0:47:11Yeah, it's tagged, yeah.
0:47:13 > 0:47:18- Well done, well done. First one. - My debut tag, my debut tag.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22Tag 0-7 at 5-5-1-8-0-7.
0:47:22 > 0:47:23Feel the power of that animal.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26You know, you've got a four or five metre shark,
0:47:26 > 0:47:30you're probably talking a couple of tons, two and a half, three maybe.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34And it gave the boat a clunk as it disappeared,
0:47:34 > 0:47:38and the whole boat you could feel, bump, just shook in the water.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42But that's great, that's another tag deployed
0:47:42 > 0:47:46And the information from that tag if it's re-sighted will be invaluable
0:47:46 > 0:47:48to tell the movements of that shark.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Indeed, the movements of the whole species off the coast of Ireland.
0:47:52 > 0:47:53So, great stuff.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Right, this one's for you. Right behind you, do you see him?
0:47:58 > 0:48:00Oh, fantastic, yeah, he's a beast.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04Who could possibly miss an animal like that?
0:48:04 > 0:48:09This is probably the most exciting moment of my entire miserable life.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18- Too fast for you? - Yeah, I didn't even see him.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22Sorry, I'm too fast for you. Just there, on your right-hand side.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24Got him.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27- He's gone down, has he? - Yeah, I think so, yeah.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29We'll get a balance between the two of them.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31You've got to just give a little bit of throttle,
0:48:31 > 0:48:34kind of boost in before he can go down because...
0:48:34 > 0:48:39- This is the one, I've got a good feeling about this. - It's got your name on it.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42It's actually good to see them high out of the water.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45And see the nose, cos that means they're feeding.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47While they're feeding they're preoccupied,
0:48:47 > 0:48:49so we can get the tag in 'em.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51OK.
0:48:54 > 0:48:55- Oh!- Are you OK? Did it go in?
0:48:58 > 0:48:59There we are, got him.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03The most clumsy, ham-fisted attempt. The poor animal.
0:49:03 > 0:49:08But it definitely went in, I saw the tag go in, hopefully it stayed in.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12Fantastic. And he gave the boat a big old clunk as he disappeared.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16Great. My first-ever tag.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19I'm going to go and get drunk.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22- That was fantastic. - Sorry, I should have...
0:49:22 > 0:49:25- Oh, no! No, right.- It's just, I wanted to be sure.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Yeah, spot on. Thanks, mate. Well done, well done.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56The morning after the day before.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00And it's 6:45 in the morning after the day before,
0:50:00 > 0:50:05so nice and early. But just a phenomenal day yesterday.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08- Were we here yesterday? - Yeah, that's right.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11Today we'll probably work the sharks a bit slower.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14Make sure we've got our photographs on both sides of the fins,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16and then maybe get a slime sample.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19And then we'll go for the tag then as a last thing.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22So we'll kind of build up a little portfolio
0:50:22 > 0:50:26- to show the identity of the shark. - Yes, absolutely.
0:50:26 > 0:50:27Right.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36Shark.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40Oh, well spotted, well spotted.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44Emmet has this near-supernatural ability to spot
0:50:44 > 0:50:49that much of a basking shark popping up a mile and a half away.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52- There's two there.- Oh, God, there's three. One, two, three.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59That moving in circles thing, it's a feeding thing.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01He's coming back on himself,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04it's like he's swimming in a bowl of soup, a small bowl of soup.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06So he's turning all the time.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10You can see his nose and that means he's got that massive mouth open.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13It's called ram filter-feeding, this.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16So he's pushing his body through the surface,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19mouth open, and a huge amount of water's washing over his gill rakers,
0:51:19 > 0:51:23and the gill rakers are sieving out the food.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26- Now, see how easy you could have tagged him.- Yeah!
0:51:28 > 0:51:32We've got one, two, three, four, five sharks
0:51:32 > 0:51:36that I can see in the area of a football pitch.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40Seems to be going down and coming up, so it's hard to tell
0:51:40 > 0:51:42how many there is at any one time.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45Well, fishermen everywhere always say
0:51:45 > 0:51:48- for every one on the surface there's at least two underneath.- Yeah.
0:51:48 > 0:51:55So I'm sitting over... Well, we're sitting over the top of considerable tonnage of animals at the moment.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58- Pick a beast, then.- I think he wants to be tagged, this one.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00He's swimming right towards us.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Too fast, I think.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23- Did you get him?- Bang on. Bang on.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25Only a fool could have missed.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29My whole vision was just full of basking shark.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32So...fantastic, that was seamless.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34- Yeah, nose to tail.- See him?
0:52:34 > 0:52:36- In fact there's three. - Is there three?
0:52:36 > 0:52:39- Yeah, it is three, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43Look at that, right in a really tight group, they must almost be touching.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46There's so many mysteries surrounding this animal.
0:52:46 > 0:52:50There's far more questions than answers.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53- Circle back.- Amazing, by the way.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59It's like having dinosaurs round the boat. I could slime him.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Look, there we are. Just right here.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14Well, I kind of scraped it down his back. Yes.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17So this is the slime - the information that can be got from it
0:53:17 > 0:53:20potentially is absolutely massive
0:53:20 > 0:53:23And it's a bit like a memory stick, that slime.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27And what we've got to do is somehow plug it in and decipher it,
0:53:27 > 0:53:32and get the information out of it, because in there is potentially
0:53:32 > 0:53:36the lineage of these animals, of that particular animal.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38And this slime, it's like a book.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41And if we can figure out how to read that book,
0:53:41 > 0:53:45suddenly the story will reveal itself.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49So I'm going to put it in a placcy bag and send it off to the labs
0:53:49 > 0:53:55at Galway Marine Institute, and hopefully they can decipher it
0:53:55 > 0:54:01and we'll find out a little bit more about the basking shark.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03- Cutting edge science. - Cutting edge science!
0:54:03 > 0:54:06An oven scraper and some slime in there as well.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09'Scientists will need hundreds more scouring pads
0:54:09 > 0:54:11'before they can draw any conclusions,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14'but I'm proud to be a pioneer slimer.'
0:54:14 > 0:54:17We've tagged an animal,
0:54:17 > 0:54:21we've taken photographs from the surface, we've got a slime sample.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25And the next thing is to try and get the sex of the animal
0:54:25 > 0:54:28that we've taken the slime sample from.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30The only way to do that is get in the water
0:54:30 > 0:54:35and try and get a shot underneath because the male has big claspers, pretty unmistakable.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46You get a sense of scale there.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49You can just see his snorkel and his head in the water.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53The size even just of the fin, all we're seeing is the fin on the back of the shark.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55Absolutely incredible.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07Wow. Unbelievable.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09I seriously thought he was going to eat me,
0:55:09 > 0:55:11for just a brief second.
0:55:11 > 0:55:16I had to fin furiously to get out of the way.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18He came right at me.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20I'm sure he had a glint in his eye!
0:55:20 > 0:55:24Um, amazing. That vast cavern of the mouth,
0:55:24 > 0:55:28and those gill rakers almost encircle the entire head.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31The first thing you see is a big white cave
0:55:31 > 0:55:33coming towards you out of the gloom.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Just behind you now.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44He's pulled back around for some more.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48I think it's getting used to being filmed, this shark.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50Just there, lads.
0:56:27 > 0:56:32- That was moderately close. - Swished the top of your head.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36Of course, the defence of these animals is their size.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40And I've just got a tiny glimpse there of the power, that tail.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43I almost collected a slime sample on my head, you know.
0:56:43 > 0:56:51It was that big old tail, bam, and it moved a percussive wave of water.
0:56:51 > 0:56:57So yeah, that was quite exciting, bordering on very exciting.
0:56:57 > 0:57:02I'm like a sort of wasp at a picnic as far as they're concerned.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06Just a little bit annoying, and you know, better somewhere else.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10So leave the big fellas to get on with it. A couple more shots...
0:57:10 > 0:57:11and then we're away.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14There we go.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Oh, wow.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32Look at the mouth, that's magic.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35It's undeniably great fun, I'm not even going to pretend it isn't.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38And an amazing life-enhancing experience.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41But it's also important stuff, you know.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44If we can clearly identify the males and the females,
0:57:44 > 0:57:46through photography in the water,
0:57:46 > 0:57:50then they get a little bit more information about the basking shark.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54And it's great fun, did I mention it was great fun? I think I probably did.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00'Next time: investigating the impact of an experimental energy project
0:58:00 > 0:58:03'on whales and dolphins.' Oh, brilliant.
0:58:05 > 0:58:10'The world's scariest harbour entrance.'
0:58:10 > 0:58:12Isn't that's lovely?
0:58:14 > 0:58:17'And a magical encounter with inquisitive seals.'
0:58:32 > 0:58:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:34 > 0:58:36E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk