Basking Shark. Whilst the sale of any Basking Shark products has been illegal in Europe since 2007, it is thought they are still caught in small numbers throughout the Atlantic Ocean. The basking shark is the second largest species of shark (and fish) in the world behind the enormous whale shark.Basking sharks are also commonly known as the sunfish, the elephant shark and the big mouth shark.. The basking shark is the second largest fish in the world, and like the largest fish (the whale shark) and the largest animal (the great whales), basking sharks are filter feeders that eat tiny, planktonic prey.Reaching lengths of 40 feet (12 m) and resembling predatory sharks in appearance, the basking shark can give an intimidating impression, but they are quite harmless.

Being so large they have no natural predators with the rare exception of Great White Sharks and Killer Whales, however they are listed as vulnerable due to being overfished. The primary defense basking sharks have against predators is their massive size. Facts