Giant sunfish washes up on Highland beach

The sunfish had been spotted swimming in the sea earlier in the week

A huge sunfish which washed up on a beach on the Black Isle is to be examined by experts.

While the fish are sometimes spotted off the Hebrides, they are an unusual sight on Scotland's east coast.

Sunfish can grow to more than 3m (9ft), measured from the tips of the fins on the top and bottom of the body.

Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) will examine the animal to determine the cause of its death.

The sunfish, which was found dead at Rosemarkie on Wednesday morning, will then be handed over to a museum.

People had reported seeing the fish alive swimming off nearby Chanonry Point earlier in the week.

It has been estimated to weigh about 100kg (220lbs).

The sunfish was found on the beach at Rosemarkie on Wednesday

The sunfish is destined for a museum in Edinburgh

Prof Andrew Brownlow, of SMASS which is part of Scotland's Rural College, said: "It is fair to say it is unusual. The fish are normally seen further south in temperate waters."

He said finding a sunfish so far north and on the east coast could possibly be a sign of climate change and warming sea temperatures, but that could not be said for definite based on just one fish.

A causes of its death could be an attack by a dolphin - the Moray Firth has a population of bottlenose dolphins - though Prof Brownlow said there was no evidence of that at the moment.

Another possible cause could be that the fish ingested plastic. They feed on jellyfish and it could have mistaken a floating plastic bag for its prey.

Sunfish are a summer visitor to Scottish waters and have been seen previously off the west coast

Following an examination, the fish will be handed over to the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh.

Helen Henderson, a B&B owner, was among residents to see the fish on the beach.

She said: "A guest told me about it. I went down to look for it and saw what I first thought was a large, flat rock, but it was the sunfish."

Rosemarkie on the Moray Firth has previously been the scene of unusual marine discoveries.

In 2017, thousands of starfish were found stranded in a behaviour known as "starballing".