The group of basking sharks were spotted off the Moray coast between Burghead and Findhorn.
A chance encounter gave eagle-eyed surveyors stunning views of a group of basking sharks off the Moray coast.
The crew, who were undertaking an analysis of local beaches to document pollution, spotted the four sharks in shallow water between Burghead and Findhorn.
And they managed to catch one on camera.
The slow-moving filter feeders are usually spotted on the west coast of Scotland but have been known to visit the Moray Firth on occasion.
In total, four sharks were spotted by the crew last Friday
The members of the vulnerable species were spotted during a survey for the SCRAPbook Project, a joint initiative by the Moray Firth Partnership and the UK Civil Air Patrol which aims to survey Scottish coastlines for plastic pollution using volunteer pilots and observers.
The images are to be used to form a map of pollution hotspots in order to track long-term trends and aid clean-up efforts by volunteers.
Chance spot as beach pollution survey crew come across basking sharks off Moray coast
