100 basking sharks pictured off coast of Scotland
Footage of the plankton-eating fish was captured by the Isle of Mull-based Sea Life Surveys who used a drone off the Isle of Coll.
The company launched a drone into the air and sent one crew member into the water to capture the animals in their natural habitat.
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Hide AdThe area is a well-known for hosting basking sharks searching for potential mates, with large numbers of them being sighted during the summer months.
Sea Life Surveys have run a whale, porpoise, shark and dolphin watch for more than 30 years, and have developed a marine survey and education outreach programme in that time.
Richard Darby, manager of the Tobermory-based company, said: “There are a lot of basking sharks around at the moment. It was quite spectacular.
“We couldn’t believe it. It is the first time we have used a drone and the results were amazing.
“We recently had a basking shark so big it was almost as long as our boat which is 42ft.
“It seems they really have gathered here in the last few weeks after a previous quiet period for them.”
Owner James Fairbairn, who was piloting the drone, said he was really impressed by the photo of a basking shark under the water.
James said: “The underwater picture was actually taken using a GoPro attached to the end of a pole and stuck under the water. It turned out incredibly well.
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Hide Ad“Having the drone was great as it let us film from a few different perspectives and end up with some fantastic footage.”
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