‘Unusually large shark fin’ spotted off UK coast by stunned beachgoer

The suspected fin was spotted by a local at around 11am on Sunday morning in Cornwall, prompting local speculation

A large fin was spotted in Cornwall at the weekend (Jacquie Williams)

A beachgoer says she spotted an ‘unusually large shark fin’ off the UK coast this weekend.

The suspected shark sighting came at around 11am on Sunday morning, with locals warning swimmers in Gunwalloe near Porthleven to proceed with ‘caution’.

Resident Jacquie Williams took the picture and her son-in-law shared it on social media, sparking much local debate.

“This shark was spotted at the other end of the beach at Gunwalloe this afternoon by my mrs’s mum, so any winter swimmers might want to proceed with extreme caution as it looks rather large,” he wrote on Facebook.

Ms Williams, who has lived in the county all her life, wasn’t certain of what she had snapped but thought it was too big for a basking shark, Cornwall Live reported.

“The photo was taken at around 11 am at Gunwalloe from about 30 meters ‘ish’, I can’t say what type of shark it is but doesn’t look like the average basking shark so thought I would just mention its presence just in case,” she said.

“Either way, dangerous or not, it’s unusual to see any type of shark inshore this time of year and with a fin that size.”

Other social media users questioned whether it is the fin of a shark, speculating it could belong to a dolphin or be a seal’s flipper.

A basking shark was spotted in Torquay marina two years ago

The area co-ordinator for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly at the British Divers Marine Life Rescue told MailOnline it could be a ‘seal bottling’, and explained when they bob around the waters vertically or horizontally, their faces stick up so it looks like a triangle.

It comes after a shark was spotted in shallow waters off a Cornwall beach near the shoreline close to Falmouth six months ago.

And on the other side of the world on Sunday, a 59-year-old Australian was killed by a shark when he was swimming near a crowded beach in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia.

The tourist was swimming about 150m from the shore of the popular Chateau-Royal beach in the capital Noumea when he was attacked.