Skip to content

A busy year in Manx waters for sharks and jellyfish

Josh CannIsle of Man
Casey J fishing A Basking shark, with its mouth open, captured under the waterCasey J fishing
Basking sharks, the world's second-largest fish, have frequently been seen off the Isle of Man coast this year

It has been a bumper year for marine life around the Isle of Man coast.

"It's been the best year for spotting sharks in decades," says fisherman and tour guide, Nicky Lewis.

Two Bottlenose dolphins, nicknamed Moonlight and Starlight, have also been putting on a regular show for passengers off Peel.

And this year has seen a lots of seals, porpoises and, unfortunately, huge swarms of jellyfish - which are not so popular!

Nicky Lewis: a smiling man with very short, dark hair and a short beard, seated on the harbour front. He is wearing dark glasses, a dark blue sweatshirt and grey trousers. He has tattoes visible on both arms.
"I'm a loyal Manx man," says skipper Nicky Lewis. "It's a bit more peaceful here."

Lewis runs Casey J Fishing Trips, which takes visitors on fishing tours and trips around the coast.

He has been fishing in the Manx waters for more than 30 years, and running trips for tourists for the past five.

"This year's a bit more like it was decades ago, when there were a lot more sharks around," he said.

"We've seen at least 30 or more - maybe more than that - and a lot of juveniles as well."

The Basking sharks, the second largest fish in the world, are usually seen around the Island between late spring and early autumn. Lewis said this year's group had already been north and were now working their way back, southwards.

"Hopefully we'll see a few more in the next couple of weeks," he said.

Casey J Fishing A line of five Bottlenose dolphins, all leaping out of the sea.Casey J Fishing
Bottlenose dolphins are known to ride the bow waves of boats

But the bigger draw for passengers, Lewis said, is the two Bottlenose dolphins that have gained a celebrity following on the Island this summer.

"Starlight, the younger one, she's a bit more boisterous - likes to play and show off a bit," he said.

The pair have been seen in Manx waters for several years, and often ride the bow waves of Lewis's boat.

"You don't realise how big they are, until they jump out the water."

Bottlenose dolphins are one of several cetacean species regularly recorded in Manx waters, alongside common dolphins, Risso's dolphins, Harbour porpoises and Minke whales.

Grey seals are also a common sight off the coast, Lewis said, with three or four usually hanging around the boat - the best known of them nicknamed Popeye

This year has also brought larger numbers of jellyfish than Lewis previously remembers: "There's a lot more turning up like this year... like swarms of them," he said.

"There's like millions of them around the boat."

The head of a grey seal, poking up out of the sea.
'Popeye' the seal poses for the camera

The Isle of Man's coastline runs for about 100 miles, with the Raad ny Foillan footpath tracing a 102-mile loop following it.

There are ten Marine Nature Reserves, covering close to 11% of its entire territorial sea and more than half of the inshore waters within three nautical miles of the coast.

The first of those areas, Ramsey Bay, was granted formal protection in 2011 and is home to eelgrass meadows, horse mussel reefs and kelp forests which support the fish and shellfish, which much of the Island's marine life and its fishing industry, depends on.

The other nine reserves were designated in 2018.

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.