A local photographer has captured an incredible close encounter with one of the world’s largest fish.

Basking sharks are regular summer visitors to the Isle of Man coastline, feeding on plankton in Manx waters. They are most commonly seen during June and July, although sightings can occur between May and September.

Frazer, from FHA Photography, managed to photograph the creature off the coast of Peel on a sunny and calm Monday evening.

He said: ‘We came across this beautiful 12-15ft basking shark feeding outside Peel Bay last night (Monday) on our way back into the harbour.

‘We sat and watched it from a distance for 10 minutes while it made several turning circles towards us feeding, before heading off north along the coast. Let’s hope there are many more to follow this summer.’

The photographs show the shark’s dorsal fin breaking the surface, along with the distinctive wide gape of its mouth as it sieves plankton from the water.

Despite their enormous size, basking sharks feed only on zooplankton, filtering it from the sea as they swim slowly back and forth with their mouths wide open.

The sharks are most commonly found off the west and south coasts of the island.

Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch confirmed the first ‘probable’ sighting of basking sharks this year was recorded on April 25 in Ramsey Bay, followed by another sighting on April 28 at Port Erin.

The life of the basking shark remains something of a mystery despite it being the world’s second largest fish. Courtship behaviour has previously been observed off the Isle of Man, leading to speculation that they may visit local waters to breed.

People can report basking shark sightings to Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch by visiting https://mwdw.net/sightings.

The organisation says the information collected is vital in helping monitor and conserve cetaceans and basking sharks in Manx waters.

All pictures: FHA Photography