Underwater camera captures basking sharks feeding off coast of Cornwall

  • Watch video of basking shark off coast of Cornwall


Incredible footage of basking sharks swimming off the coast of Cornwall has been captured on an underwater camera.

The owner of a pleasure trip company captured the amazing footage of the gentle giants swimming and feeding in Mount's Bay using a GoPro at the weekend.

Adrian Thomas, a skipper for Mermaid Pleasure Trips, said he believes there are more sharks in the bay than before and that they are getting larger.

"We've seen a lot of basking sharks in the past few years, but at the moment we've seen seven or eight over the course of the weekend," he said.

"They're absolutely large, I haven't seen them like that for a few years."

One of the sharks captured on camera feeding off the coast of Cornwall. Credit: Mermaid Pleasure Trips.

Basking sharks are the second largest shark breed and feed on plankton, meaning they are harmless to humans. Adults can reach up to 26ft long and are generally greyish-brown with mottled skin.

"You can't miss them, they've got a big nose that comes up at the top [and] with a big wide open mouth, they're quite a sight," Adrian added.

This is not the first shark sighting off the West Country's coastline. Last week, paddleboarders in Devon harbour were approached by a shark which swam close to them.

Adrian said basking sharks in Mount's Bay are a common sight - and are something that he is very pleased to see.

He called the one's he's seen "absolutely beautiful" and described the experience of being able to film them as they swam near his boat "absolutely brilliant."

But Adrian is also keen that the sharks are not disturbed by boats coming to look at them, especially when they are feeding.

Basking sharks spend most of their time near the surface, swimming with their huge mouths wide open, filtering out their preferred prey.


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