Giant basking shark circles kayakers off the coast of the Isle of Man in heart-stopping pics
Becca Goodson and Calum Brown got a close up experience with seven of the incredible creatures
THESE heart-stopping pictures show the moment kayakers were circled by basking sharks off the cost of the Isle of Man.
Becca Goodson and Calum Brown got a close up experience with the incredible creatures while paddling out on the Irish Sea yesterday.
The tourists spotted their huge dorsal fins surround them and counted seven of them feeding near to their kayaks.
Miss Goodson told the : “We counted seven of them just in the area we were in, and they were gracefully feeding all around the kayaks.
"It was so peaceful and calm.”
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It's not the first time basking sharks have been spotted in the water off the Isle of Man by kayakers in the summer months.
In June last year Craig Whalley captured footage of a 23ft shark venturing into shallow waters to feed.
Every summer, from mid May to mid August the Isle of Man is a basking shark "hotspot" and has a higher density than elsewhere in the UK, according to .
The charity says most basking shark sightings are reported within 1km of land along a 40km stretch of easily accessible coastline on the south and south western shores of the island.
Plankton concentrates at the surface of the sea when its calm and the weather conditions are settled and sunny - so sharks tend to feed on them close inshore.
The group encourages people to report moments they see basking sharks and there were nine separate sightings alone yesterday.
Ian Judd said he counted 15 breaching at about 6pm while on his boat at Peel.
Writing on the website, he said: "There was a group of four sharks that were nose to tail swimming that seemed to be interacting with each other. I also saw a breach."
He said sharks varied in from four metres to 10 metres in length.
Basking sharks are the second largest fish in the world and described as "slow-moving filter feeders".
Their population has been threatened over the years but they are now a protected species in the UK.
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