How do basking sharks hunt for food
After research, scientists and marine biologists found that the basking shark's way of eating is very magical. It just opens its big mouth and waits for the food to swim into its mouth.
The basking shark has a huge olfactory bulb in its body that can guide its prey in the "correct" direction. The basking shark will swallow any food that swims into its mouth. Apart from this, it will not actively hunt prey.
Xiang Yang tried to swim towards the basking shark. Basking sharks are passive filter feeders that can filter plankton, tiny fish and countless invertebrates from 2,000 cubic meters of sea water every hour. They push seawater into their gills while swimming slowly, so there would be no danger for Xiang Yang to approach the basking shark.
Xiang Yang swam very fast and arrived near the basking shark in just a few flashes.
When the basking shark saw Xiang Yang, it closed its mouth and stared at Xiang Yang with its small green bean-like eyes full of curiosity. They would not attack humans like great white sharks, nor would they avoid humans like fin whales.
Basking sharks are harmless to humans and will not be tempted by bait thrown by humans.
Xiang Yang reached out and touched the skin of the basking shark. The flesh was very tight and the skin was very elastic. It was obvious that its muscles were very developed.
"This should be a basking shark that has just reached adulthood and has not yet found a pod." Xiang Yang thought to himself.
Basking sharks have a very speechless habit, that is, basking sharks are generally separated by males and females, and they move in groups.
What this means is that in a large group of basking sharks, all the males are males and all the females are females. There may be a few male pups in a group of female basking sharks. Once the male pups reach adulthood, they will immediately leave the group of female basking sharks.
The number of basking sharks in a school is uncertain.
At the least, there are groups of three or five, but there are also particularly large groups of basking sharks, with more than a hundred in a group, which are simply living vacuum cleaners of the ocean.
This basking shark seemed to be uncomfortable with Xiang Yang's touch. The moment Xiang Yang's hand touched it, it immediately swung its huge body and retreated backwards.
A pair of small eyes like green beans were crowded together, staring at Xiang Yang with curiosity.
Xiang Yang found it a little funny and waved at the basking shark.
Xiang Yang knew that this basking shark could definitely see him waving, because although the basking shark's eyes were small, they were well developed. Their eyes were like a dog's sense of smell, able to see very far, and they could use vision to confirm whether a passing ship had been seen before.
When the basking shark saw Xiang Yang waving his hand, it thought Xiang Yang was going to hit it, so it quickly retreated a little.
Despite their huge bodies, basking sharks actually occupy a very awkward position in the marine food chain.
Judging from the creatures they prey on, they are marine predators at the very bottom of the marine food chain pyramid.
However, there are not many creatures that can prey on basking sharks. The only ones discovered so far seem to be killer whales and tiger sharks.
Dolphins and eels are also often attracted to basking sharks and like to chase them and bite them.
However, even if dolphins and eels catch up with the basking shark, they usually cannot kill it because the basking shark's skin is very tight and very thick, which cannot be separated by dolphins and eels at all.
Xiang Yang had no intention of hunting this basking shark.
Although basking sharks were once the main harvest of fishermen in the history of fishing, they have very wide commercial uses. Their bodies can be made into canned fish or fish meal, and their skin is the finest leather material. Belts, leather jackets, and leather boots made from basking shark skin were once classified as luxury goods.
In addition, the fins of the basking shark are the raw materials for the well-known Jiutian shark fin, and the price of this thing is absolutely priceless.
There is a boss in Hengdian who has a plate of shark fin. Since 2005, he has been renting it out to various film crews as a prop. Now, almost 20 years have passed, and he still can't bear to eat it.
Xiang Yang looked at the fin of the basking shark and sighed in his heart. Basking sharks were hunted in large numbers because of these fins. In recent years, they are almost on the verge of extinction due to overfishing.
After the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the basking shark as one of the "endangered species", many coastal countries in the world have introduced laws to protect basking sharks. my country is also restricting the trade of basking shark products. Especially in the past few years, many domestic superstars have filmed public service advertisements refusing to eat shark fins and advocating "no killing, no harm".
This basking shark was very timid. Even though it was over four meters long, it was still afraid of Xiang Yang, who was less than two meters long.
Its mung bean-sized eyes kept staring at Xiang Yang, and then its body kept retreating.
After seeing this, Xiang Yang no longer had the desire to chase it. He quietly watched the basking shark swim backwards for a distance, then swim away with its tail swinging, then turn around and swim back the same way it came.
When Xiang Yang swam back, there were no crew members left in that sea area, and they all went on deck.
Every half an hour of diving, you have to go on board to rest. This rule has now become a tradition of Xiang Yang's fleet, instead of being a rule set by Xiang Yang for the crew. Everyone abides by it consciously, strictly enforces it, and reminds each other.
Xiang Yang swam quietly to the bottom of the boat, then surfaced and climbed onto the deck via the ship's ladder.
Chen Qingsheng saw Xiang Yang boarding the boat, walked to the side of the boat, stretched out his hand and pulled Xiang Yang. He smiled and said, "Captain, you've been down there for a long time this time. What good stuff did you get?"
"I didn't catch anything." Xiang Yang smiled and patted the empty net bag on his waist. "I didn't actually go down for long. I went up on the deck first to inform you about the starfish shrimp. By the time I informed everyone, more than ten minutes had passed. In fact, I was only in the sea for more than ten minutes."
Fang Youqun looked at Xiang Yang strangely, "Brother Yang, you actually come here empty-handed sometimes?"
It's no wonder that Fang Youqun was surprised. In the past, every time Xiang Yang went to the sea, he was the only one who caught the most fish. But this time, Xiang Yang went down for more than ten minutes but didn't catch anything.
"There are a lot of seafood under the water." Fang Youqun counted them one by one with his fingers, "Starfish, starfish shrimp, floating fish, lobsters, swimming crabs... Brother Yang, it's impossible for you to walk around for more than ten minutes and not catch anything, right? If you really can't catch anything, picking up a few scallops will also be good."
"The floating fish, ribbon eel, and starfish shrimp were all found by the captain." Chen Qingsheng glanced at Fang Youqun, "Do you think the captain just needs to catch a few seafood like you? His contribution in finding these things is greater than your catching a hundred kilograms of seafood. Without him, I would put starfish shrimp and floating fish in front of you. Do you recognize them?"
"Well."
Fang Youqun groaned and looked at Xiang Yang awkwardly, "Brother Yang, are you looking for something good again?"