Eagle-eyed experts involved in the development of what will become Scotland’s largest offshore windfarm have made a rare sighting of a spectacular marine visitor.
For only the second time in Scottish waters, a swordfish has been spotted thanks to an aerial wildlife survey being carried out on SSE Renewables’ Seagreen site off the Angus coast.
The remarkable capture was made by members of HiDef Aerial Surveying Ltd, whose ability to zoom in on an unusual shape in the water revealed the rare animal. It was spotted in the northern reaches of the coast between Angus and the Mearns.
After months of research, experts say they are confident the creature caught on camera in the chilly North Sea is the enigmatic species prized by game fishermen in warmer waters of the likes of the Caribbean.
Swordfish have washed up around the coast of the UK but the only recorded Scottish capture of one was in a River Forth trawl net more than a decade ago. The three-metre long fish had a bill a metre in length.
The aerial survey company had been commissioned by the renewable energy developer to undertake a series of digital aerial wildlife surveys over the offshore wind farm site, around 17 miles off the off the Angus coast. Read more:
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