COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Basking Shark Cetorhinus maximus Atlantic population in Canada SPECIAL CONCERN 2009 COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC. 2009. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Basking Shark Cetorhinus maximus, Atlantic population, in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. viii + 56 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Production note: COSEWIC would like to acknowledge Scott Wallace for writing the status report on the Basking Shark Cetorhinus maximus, Atlantic population, prepared under contract with Environment Canada. COSEWIC also acknowledges Jamie Gibson, member of the Marine Fishes Specialist Subcommittee, for conducting the population viability analyses described in this report. This report was overseen and edited by Howard Powles, Co-chair, COSEWIC Marine Fishes Specialist Subcommittee. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: 819-953-3215 Fax: 819-994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/
[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Également disponible en français sous le titre Ếvaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur le pèlerin (Cetorhinus maximus), population de l'Atlantique, au Canada. Cover illustration/photo: Basking Shark — Source of figure: Compagno 2001. ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2010. Catalogue CW69-14/591-2010E-PDF ISBN 978-1-100-15061-1 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – November 2009 Common name Basking Shark - Atlantic population Scientific name Cetorhinus maximus Status Special Concern Reason for designation This species, which attains a maximum length of over 15 m (the second largest living fish) is highly vulnerable to human-caused mortality because of its extremely low productivity.