The end of the mystery?

What Next For Nessie?

The next chapter in the Nessie story is currently being written by scientists at labs around the world, under the guidance of New Zealand Professor Neil Gemmell.

"Right now a team distributed around the globe are working to finalise the analyses and interpret the key findings,” he said. "We have targeted bacteria, plants, animals and because of the monster myth, focused part of our analysis solely on vertebrates.

"The premise is that if there is any mysterious creature in Loch Ness it will have a biological bias and a relationship with something currently living. Using a scientific process known as phylogenetics we can search through the DNA sequences we find in our Loch Ness samples and explore where on the tree of life these sequences sit.

"Anything unusual will be interesting, whether a bacteria or other creature. Attribution to ‘Nessie' is not certain of course, but this is one of the reasons we sample from other Loch systems – the argument would be that ‘Nessie’ DNA sequences should be unique to Loch Ness and would need to fit somewhere on the tree of life that seems a plausible explanation for the 1000 plus sightings reported thus far.”

"Everybody in Scotland knows, of course Nessy exists so I think you're treading in some very dangerous waters here, if you don't mind me saying." First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, on being asked whether ther Loch Ness monster was real during a 2018 interview.

The results are expected to be announced at Loch Ness in the early Septembe. Asked whether a negative finding would be “definitive proof” that Nessie didn’t exist, Prof Gemmell admitted that wouldn’t entirely be the case.

"We got a snapshot of the biological complexity of Loch Ness in June 2018,” he explained. "The eDNA last a few days in the water and tends to be quite localised, so we can’t say much about what was present before or after our sampling. So, if we come up with nothing it may be that Nessie was absent when we sampled, or that we didn’t sample the right place and the right time. That said there were several sighting reported just the week before we sampled so “Nessie” was apparently around.

"As the saying goes, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so if we find nothing that is supportive of any of the Nessie hypotheses we cannot say definitively that Nessie does not exist. If we find something, then…"

The study found itself in the headlines recently as media reports suggested the project findings were set to reveal ‘proof’ that Nessie was real - something which the team insist is completely incorrect.

Professor Gemmell instead clarified: “At this point each of the common theories on what the Loch Ness Monster might be have been tested. For most of those theories no evidence has been found to support them. However, one theory cannot be excluded as a possibility.”

Now 69, Shine is already convinced there is no monsterous creature living in the Loch – but that has, if anything, only increased his interest in it. Every day he sees first-hand the continued fascination with the monster at the Loch Ness Exhibition And Visitor Centre - which is now home to his mini-sub as well as countless other relics from the monster hunts of old.

"The attendance is considerable and international - two years ago was a record, last year was good and this one is promising," he says. "Things have evolved as the mystery is moving into history, but it is no less interesting on that count."

What drives him now is to try to explain why people believe they have seen a monster.“Candidates from nature, like seals, sturgeon, which could be responsible for the minority of the sightings – the majority are boat wakes – but it’s not wholly imagination, as the phenomenon people are seeing are there. So how do you explain over 1000 credible sober people all seeing a monster that cannot be found?"

1930s Drumnadrochit schoolchildren see ‘a horrifying animal. 1933 Gordon Spicer and his wife report a "dragon"-like creature. 1934 Arthur Grant almost hits 'a hybrid' creature by the loch. 1934 Patricia Harvey and Jean MacDonald see ‘a long necked creature’. 1960 Torquil MacLeod sees ‘the monster' partially ashore on scree. 1979 Donald MacKinnon sees 'a strange creature’ with a long neck.

Like anyone else interested in the Loch, Shine is eagerly awaiting the results of the DNA study - but having seen first-hand the media-fuelled monster myth grow into a self-sustaining creation all its own, he doesn't believe finding nothing would have any impact on Scotland's national treasure.

"There will be a loch ness monster as long as people want there to be,” he says. "If the DNA reports don't find anything large and unexplained people will just say we didn’t get the right water samples. They will rationalise. So I don’t think there’s any fear from that."

He does however sound one, perhaps unexpected note of caution.

"You could argue there's a greater threat if they do find something. The animal whatever it was, would be protected of course and there would be a flurry of interest - but it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be a mystery anymore."