A swordfish has been spotted in British waters in a sighting so rare there are thought to have only ever been five.

The three-metre long fish, famous for its long pointed bill, was filmed in the sea five miles off the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.

Conservationists from the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch charity were out on a boat carrying out a survey of sea mammals when they saw the unusual shape in the water.

They switched the boat engines off and the animal came closer towards them.

Swordfish are typically found in the warmer waters of the mid-Atlantic, Pacific and the Mediterranean.

The presence of the lone swordfish in the British Isles may be related to rising sea temperatures.

It could also be an indication of the abundance of prey fish like mackerel and herring in UK waters at the moment.

In recent years there have been increasing numbers of big game species like blue fin tuna and blue and porbeagle sharks as well as large pods of dolphins that are thought to be attracted by large stocks of smaller fish.

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Jen Adams, the outreach and education manager for the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch, said: ‘We suddenly saw this massive animal leaping out of the water.

‘I got my binoculars on it and saw clearly that it wasn’t a dolphin and then made out the long bill of a swordfish. There was no mistaking it.

‘We switched the engines off so that we didn’t scare it away. Then after about 10 minutes it re-appeared and approached us.

‘It was three metres long and a third of that was its bill. It was huge.

‘It was amazing to see and incredibly rare – something that you would never expect to see in a million years.

‘Swordfish are off-shore oceanic species found in the north west Atlantic and the Mediterranean, not inshore UK waters.

‘I believe there have been no more than five swordfish sightings ever in the UK.

‘I have no idea what it was doing here. It baffled us.

‘It may well off gone off course in search of food, they feed on oily fish like mackerel and herring.

‘We are seeing a lot of large pods of about 200 dolphins this year and that is probably because there is a lot of food for them here. It may be the same for swordfish.’

Swordfish, known as Xiphias gladius in Latin, are known for their agility in the water, reaching speeds of 22mph.

The popular belief of their ‘sword’ being used as a spear smaller fish is misleading as they are thought to use it to slash and injure prey animals.

They present no threat to humans and are listed as a near threatened species on the IUCN red list, mainly due to overfishing for them.

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