Cornwall's coast becomes a whale-watching hotspot

Seeing a fin whale takes your breath away, said one watcher

Cornwall's waters are alive with fin whales according to a Falmouth-based wildlife cruise company which says sighting continue to increase.

Jake Henry Skipper, from AK Wildlife Cruises, said sightings had been increasing over the last decade, with whales arriving earlier and staying longer.

"So from July, we are over 20, really good numbers this year," he said.

"It never gets old, just to see something that sheer size always takes your breath away."

Experts believe the whales are chasing food like herring

A stranded female fine whale calf at Pentewan had to be put to sleep on Tuesday but even as a newborn, its size hinted at the scale of the adults, which can grow up to 88ft (27m) long.

Prof Peter Evans, director of the Seawatch Foundation - which monitors sightings, said the whales' growing presence was closely tied to food availability.

"The main period that they've been seen is winter, from November through to March," he said.

That timing matches the seasonal boom in herring numbers, a favourite prey.

"There have been close associations with large shoals of herring," Prof Evans said.

The spread is not limited to south-west England, he said.

"We've been seeing an increased number of sightings up in the Hebrides, in Shetland, and also on the east coast of Scotland, from the Firth of Forth up to Cape Wrath," he said.

Even the North Sea sees occasional visitors, with reports off east Yorkshire near Whitby.

"They do cover the whole sort of UK," he said, though they are far more common off the west coast, where the continental shelf edge offers rich feeding grounds.

Climate change may also be nudging the trend, he said, though he stressed the main driver was prey availability.

For him, the rise in sightings was a sign of hope. "It's very pleasing to see," he said. "It shows how the species has recovered from overexploitation."

Cam Molland, first mate at AK Wildlife Cruises, said: "It's a common misconception that if you want to see stunning whales and dolphins, you have to go all over the place, but the amount of cetacean biodiversity that we have in Falmouth Bay is without a doubt world-class."