Basking
sharks were recorded shoaling in large numbers off Scotland's coast last year.
Scottish
Natural Heritage (SNH), the University of Exeter and researcher Colin Speedie
have been examining "hot spots" for the sharks.
In a
newly-released video publicising the work, Mr Speedie said shoals of 73 fish
were counted off Coll.
A
shoal of 50 fish were also recorded around Hyskeir, a group of rocky islets
near Canna.
SNH
has uploaded the video to YouTube.
Courtship
activity was also recorded, including sharks breaching, or jumping out of the
water.
In
Scotland, the fish were hunted until 1994. Numbers of the sharks were so low
they were given protected status in 1998.
Mr
Speedie said historic records of where the sharks were hunted could provide
clues to other "hot spots".
Basking sharks are the
world's second largest fish.
They
can grow to 11m (36ft) and weigh up to seven tonnes.
The
slow moving plankton feeders can live to 50-years-old.
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