SEA-GOERS in Pembrokeshire waters are being alerted to look out for a wandering, critically-endangered whale.

The extremely rare creature - the North Atlantic right whale - could be attracted towards our coast by rich stocks of small fish and plankton.

It was spotted this week off the French coast in the northern Bay of Biscay.

By coincidence, today (Saturday) sees the start of the National Whale and Dolphin watch event run by the national UK marine rescue charity, Sea Watch Foundation.

And with the massive whale's meandering tendencies, there is every reason it could swim into British waters, said the charity's director, Dr Peter Evans.

"This whale seems to be a great wanderer," he said. "It's been in Nova Scotia, the Gulf of St Lawrence, Iceland and north west France.

"It's interesting that the last sighting was also in July. This is a time when large whales can appear in our waters attracted by concentrations of small fish or plankton on which whales and fish may feed.

"I remember a survey I undertook in early August off Pembrokeshire some years ago and we encountered six fin whales within sight of Ramsey Island.

"In the last two weeks we have had reports of large groups of common dolphins in Devon, Cornwall and off south west Wales, so there is obviously a lot of food around for them just now."

Less than 500 North Atlantic Right Whales remain in existence, with their chief habitat off the eastern seaboard of the United States.

When fully-grown, they can be up to 17metres long and weigh up to 90,000 kg.

It is thought that a change in oceanographic conditions arising from climate change is causing the whales to seek out new areas to feed.

This puts them at risk of being struck and killed by shipping.

The most recent sighting of this particular whale came at 9.30am on Wednesday July 22, when it was spotted from a ship bound for Spain from Scotland.

The vessel had passed through the Irish Sea, crossed the western approaches to the English Channel and entered the Bay of Biscay, where its path was slowly crossed by the cetacean.

It was recognised by its all-black colour, lack of a dorsal fin and v-shaped twin blow, but the crew were unable to get a picture of the whale to confirm its identity as the one previously sighted.

National Whale and Dolphin Watch 2020 runs from today (Saturday) until August 2.

For details, visit seawatchfoundation.org.uk/nwdw/ or contact nwdw@seawatchfoundation.org.uk.