A new search to solve the Loch Ness Monster mystery is being planned by the scientist who revealed Nessie could be a giant eel.
In 2019, Professor Neil Gemmell, a geneticist from the University of Otago in New Zealand, trawled Loch Ness and found no evidence of plesiosaur DNA.
However, he found lots of eel DNA, and posited that there may be giant eels in Loch Ness which might be behind the Nessie sightings. Unfortunately, DNA gives no indication of size.
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Now Prof Gemmell hopes to conduct a new survey to dig deeper into the mystery.
Reflecting on the project to the biotech company Illumina, the geneticist responded to critics that the study was too small by conceding that “sampling a few hundreds of cubic litres of water is not much in a lake which is estimated to have something like 10 million”.
Professor Neil Gemmell.
Prof Gemmell argued that the survey was a promising first step and put forward his ambitions for a second environmental DNA examination of the site using a wholly different method.
“The power is really unlocked when we go back and sample serially, over time,” he explained, “then we can see if things are changing” and presumably develop a wealth of new data.
Prof Gemmell is currently seeking sponsorship for “Loch Ness 2.0,” in which he plans to use “shotgun sequencing” rather than targeted sequencing, which can show the proportional change in a species’ population over time – the data could track the spread of new pathogens in the area, and be used to make informed predictions about the ecosystem’s future health.
He maintains that he doesn’t expect to find a monster, but that an updated collection system could accomplish two goals: shedding further light on the unknown, while serving as a proof of concept that similar studies could be done at scale, to help conservationists understand the biodiversity of ecosystems around the world.
Ultimately, what brings him back to the loch is the enduring mystery it holds in the imagination of so many – the thought of spurring the same excitement he saw in his kids, by telling a fantastic story about science that might reach hundreds or thousands more.
“That’s something we all share as humans,” he said. “A desire to understand our natural world. One of the things I think we may have forgotten is that we are all explorers and discoverers. Each of us makes new observations every day. Working in science, I have the privilege to embark on that journey of discovery every day in the laboratory. And last time around with Loch Ness 1.0, being able to capture that excitement and communicate it to the world was so much fun.”
Catfish and suggestions that a wandering Greenland shark were behind the Nessie sightings were also discounted in Prof Gemmell’s first search.
The aim of the research was not to find Nessie, but to improve knowledge of what plants and animals live in Loch Ness.
European eels are among the creatures in the loch, and whose DNA was picked up by the research.
Juvenile eels, known as elvers, arrive in Scottish rivers and lochs after migrating more than 3,100 miles (5,000 km) from the Sargasso Sea near the Bahamas, where the animals spawn and lay eggs.
“Well, our data doesn’t reveal their size, but the sheer quantity of the material says that we can’t discount the possibility that there may be giant eels in Loch Ness. Therefore we can’t discount the possibility that what people see and believe is the Loch Ness Monster might be a giant eel,” Prof Gemmell said previously.
DNA from humans, dogs, sheep, cattle, deer, badgers, rabbits, voles and birds were also identified by the researchers.
Professor Neil Gemmell and Steve Feltham.
Steve Feltham, who is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records for the longest continuous monster hunting vigil of Loch Ness, is not convinced the scientists have yet identified the creature behind the sightings.
Mr Feltham, who made childhood visits to the Highlands and moved from Dorset more than 30 years ago to look for Nessie, said the research had not ruled out other animals such as seals being mistaken for the monster.
The presence of eels in the the loch was no big surprise, he added.
He said: “A 12-year-old boy could tell you there are eels in Loch Ness. I caught eels in the loch when I was a 12-year-old boy.”
Nessie was far shier last year – sticking her head up just three times above the surface, according to its official logger.
There were five sightings in 2024 of the Loch Ness Monster – half of 2023’s total – and two were sonar contacts.
The Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register said those sonar soundings were among the best evidence of Nessie and that is where future deep down research should be concentrated.
It is 92 years since the Loch Ness Monster modern phenomenon began.
On April 14, 1933, hotel manageress Aldie Mackay reported seeing a “whale-like fish” in the waters of Loch Ness.
As she and her husband drove, she glanced out across the still calm waters of towards Aldourie Castle. There, in the water, she saw something.
Mrs Mackay’s sighting was reported in The Inverness Courier on May 2, 1933 by Alex Campbell, the water bailiff for Loch Ness and a part-time journalist.
It is widely regarded as the first “modern sighting” of a monster in the loch.