Basking sharks photographed by beach pollution team
- Published
The basking sharks were spotted on Friday
Basking sharks have been photographed feeding in the Moray Firth.
The animals were spotted on Friday close to the shore between Burghead and Findhorn during a coastal pollution survey.
John Bisset photographed the sharks from a light aircraft piloted by Toni Hausler of UK Sky Watch, an organisation involved in the Scottish Coastal Rubbish Aerial Photography (SCRAPbook), external project.
Scottish Natural Heritage said it was "fairly unusual" to see basking sharks on Scotland's east coast, although it had heard of increasing sightings in the last five years.
The Shark Trust said: "Basking sharks are mainly associated with the west coast of Scotland, but we have had records from the Moray Firth in the past.
"It's not very unusual but it's always great to see."
Basking sharks are the world's second biggest fish, reaching lengths up to 10m (33ft).
They have no teeth and feed on microscopic plankton with their huge, wide-open mouths.
The sharks were seen feeding close to shore between Findhorn and Burghead
Every summer the sharks gather in large numbers off Scotland, usually around small islands between Skye and Mull off the west coast.
They are also found off the islands of Coll, Tiree and Hyskeir, before later migrating south to waters around Madeira and the Canary Islands off west Africa.
SCRAPbook is led by Sky Watch and the Moray Firth Partnership.
Pilots and observers regularly take to the skies to photograph coastal marine litter.
Images the copyright of John Bisset.