A shark watching project based on the Isle of Man is offering a £200 reward for the safe return of a tracking tag lost in the Milford Haven estuary.

The tag is the size and appearance of a hand held microphone. It has a grey shaft and a rounded red top with a thin antennae protruding from it. The tags are worth around £3000 new.

The tag has been lost from a seven metre basking shark called Colin, one of four sharks tagged by the Manx Basking Shark Watch last July. He dropped his satellite tag, which he had been carrying for 77 days, 20 miles off Skomer last Monday, October 13th.

Jackie Hall, shark watch coordinator,said the the battery on the tag is now fading and the position that is transmitting is not 100% accurate. However it is believed that the tag has now drifted close to the mouth of the Milford Haven estuary and could be lying on its side on a beach.

"The tag is currently transmitting its data to the satellite," said Jackie.

"This data will tell us where Colin has been for the last 77 days. It will also tell us how deep he has been and what the water temperature was.

"This information is of great interest to us as we can find out more about basking shark migration patterns. This will help us to develop more effective protection for these endangered animals.

"It will continue to transmit until its battery runs out in about seven to ten days days. We will then download the data and find out where Colin has been for the last 77 days."

Although the satellite data is invaluable to the basking shark watch, they are able to get even more information from the actual tag.

"Getting the tag back would allow us to download all of the information about what the basking shark was up to whilst the tag was attached. This means that we will be able to look at fine-scale foraging behaviour," said Jackie.

"The data sent to us via satellite gives us a good picture of what the shark was up to, but the whole data set is a bonus of delightful proportions."

The other bonus is that if the tag is in good condition it can be reconditioned and used again next year.

There is a £200 reward for the tag. If you find it please ring Jackie on 01624 833215 or the Manx Wildlife Trust on 01624 801985.

"We will be delighted to hear from you," said Jackie.