460 sharks spotted off Cornwall in one day

Last updated at 01:57 08 September 2007


The highest number of basking

sharks counted in one

day off the British coast has

been recorded this week –

and it's down to summer

arriving, albeit very late.

There were 460 seen

between Land's End and Cape

Cornwall near Penzance on

Wednesday.

The previous record was

around 300 counted off Lizard

Point, Cornwall, in 1998.

The 460 sharks were counted

by staff of the Ocean Ranger, a

boat that takes tourists on

trips around the Land's End

peninsula.

Rory Goodall, from Elemental

Tours, which owns the Ocean

Ranger, said warmer seas and

the Indian summer could be

behind the phenomenon.

He said: "They follow the

plankton around. The whole

food chain is thriving in the

recent sunshine."

Douglas Herdson of the

National Marine Aquarium,

Plymouth, said: "The late

summer sun has meant

a big bloom of plankton

which is the food source for

basking sharks."

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