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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Rory Carroll on Achill Island

‘I’m happy we’re not killing them any more’: Ireland’s last basking shark hunter on the return of the giants

Black and white photo of two huge dead sharks lying on a quay with mouths gaping and three men standing behind them
Two basking sharks caught off Mayo’s Achill Island in 1954. More than 12,000 sharks were killed over the three decades they were hunted. Photograph: Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Getty

The ambush was simple. A spotter on a hill would scan the sea and when he saw the big black fins approach, he would shout down to the boatmen. They would ready their nets and quickly row out to the kill zone.

When a shark got tangled in the mesh, Brian McNeill would wait a minute or two while it struggled, then steady himself and raise his harpoon. This was the crucial moment. The creature would be diving and thrashing, desperate to escape. If the blade hit the gills blood would spurt, clouding the water. The trick was to hit a small spot between the vertebrae.

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