Here comes the sunfish, riding on the crest of a heatwave

Britain's unusually high summer temperatures are attracting more than the usual sun worshippers to the Cornish coast.

Giant ocean sunfish have been officially recorded for the first time off the south-western tip of England. Scientists conducting an aerial survey of coastal marine life in the area around Land's End from Falmouth to Newquay counted 19 of the species in a two-hour period earlier this month.

Across the country, coastal communities from Land's End to Shetland have reported record numbers of exotic species of marine life basking in seas warmed by the recent heat wave.

Sightings of various species of whales, dolphins, sharks and exotic fish have been reported around the coastline, many spotted closer to land than ever before, as, like the sunfish they are attracted by the abundance of algae, jellyfish and smaller fish which thrive in the warmer than usual waters.

There has been plenty of anecdotal evidence that sunfish, the world's largest bony fish, have visited UK waters before, but no scientific survey has been able to identify them in any numbers.

"This sudden influx of these beautiful, giant fish was a fantastic surprise," said Brendan Godley, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter's school of biosciences, which carried out the survey in conjunction with the Marine Conservation Society and Cornwall Wildlife Trust. "We only spotted the sunfish lying on their side at the surface so there may have been more below the waves."

The ocean sunfish, also known as Mola mola, which comes from the Latin for millstone and reflects their round shape and grey appearance, gets its name from its habit of lying at the sea surface on its side as if sunbathing.

Although found in all oceans and in tropical and temperate climates, they have not been recorded before in British waters. The fish, which feed on jellyfish, smaller fish and algae, can grow to three metres long and weigh more than 3,000lbs.

"This is the first time we have spotted them during our surveys and we think they have arrived here in order to take advantage of anticipated jellyfish blooms as the summer sea temperatures rise," said Dr Godley.

The scientists said they had also counted about eight basking sharks this month, in addition to about 19 spotted in June, in and around the coastal waters of Land's End. They have also detected various numbers of porpoises, seals, jellyfish, bottlenose and common dolphins.

Peter Richardson, species policy officer for the Marine Conservation Society, said: "It strikes us as quite a sudden influx [of sunfish] and I think it must be related to the water temperature. They will be coming this way because the temperature is good for them and they are anticipating feeding on jellyfish."

Further north, the high summer temperatures are being linked to large numbers of whales and dolphins spotted off Scotland's east coast.

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