Shark sculpture is some-fin special

No, your eyes are not deceiving you, that new sculpture on Leeside is life-sized.

The basking shark sculpture arrived into Cork last week and is a 10.6 metre model named Banbha after the Irish goddess of the Tuatha Dé Dannan.

It was commissioned by the Irish Basking Shark Group and Fair Seas and supported by the Heritage Council.

The sculpture, created by well-known model-maker Tommy Casby, is located on Albert Quay for Cork Harbour Festival which is ongoing and ahead of the Fair Seas World Ocean Week Conference which took place at Cork City Hall yesterday, Wednesday.

The conference brought together ocean advocates, the fishing community, government, industry and key stakeholders to map out the next steps for designating and managing a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

MPAs are areas of our seas and coasts designed to legally protect the habitats and species from activities that damage them.

Ireland has committed to protecting 30% of its seas by 2030, however, less than 10% of Ireland’s seas are currently designated as protected and there are no adequate management plans or conservation measures in place for these areas.

Simon Berrow, CEO of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said: “The sculpture is a wonderful way for people to see the actual size of basking sharks which come to Ireland every year in huge numbers. Ireland is now recognised as a global hotspot for basking sharks worldwide. It’s great that we can share Banbha the basking shark as part of the Cork Harbour Festival and the Fair Seas World Ocean Conference.”

Basking sharks are the second largest fish in the ocean and are a familiar sight along Ireland’s west coast between April and October.