Scientists have described recent fin whale sightings off the Cornish coast as one of the largest gatherings of the species ever seen in British waters. 21 fin whales 50 to 70 miles offshore, were seen feeding near the surface on May 21, an incredibly rare event.

Researchers watched the whales for 30 minutes, delighted to see the marine mammals in such large numbers because historically it has never happened in that particular area. The species were spotted in the Celtic Deep, an area between north Cornwall and south west Pembrokeshire while the researchers were surveying numbers of schooling fish such as sardines. Fin whales are usually found in large numbers in the Bay of Biscay, but their presence in British waters is a relatively new discovery and it's possible the whales may have been chasing krill into the area.

Fin whales is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long. The American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale "the greyhound of the sea" because of its great speed when chased and slender built. Like all other large whales, the fin whale was heavily hunted during the twentieth century and is an endangered species.