Pelagic activity off the New England coast has been off the charts this late Spring, and a Westport couple got a firsthand view of it themselves a week ago Sunday, when they saw no fewer than seven basking sharks just off Westport.

Perry and Carmel Long were setting recreational lobster pots from their 18’ Tripp Angler when they first spotted the sharks near Twomile Rock Sunday evening, June 9. At first, they didn’t know if they were whales or sharks, and freaked out a bit when guessing they might be Great Whites.

“It was a sort of surreal experience,” Perry said. “We do this every year; put our pots out in the hopes that we’ll be able to bring home a few for family. The size of these sharks, they were just enormous.”

The couple called Harbormaster Chris Leonard and sent photos to a few friends, who pretty much confirmed that they were basking sharks — large, docile creatures that pose no threat to humans.

The main group of sharks numbered about five, though it was hard to tell as when one would submerge, another would surface. They seemed in a curious mood and the Longs spent some time watching them as they breached around the boat. On the way back into Westport, they spotted two more.

It was a happy ending to what ended up being a skunk of a lobster trip — the Longs pulled a few pots too, but came up empty on the lobster front.

It’s been an exceptionally busy spring offshore. Researchers last week spotted no fewer than 160 whales of various species, including an orca, off the Vineyard and Nantucket, and mariners have reported seeing pilot whales relatively close to shore in Buzzards Bay. Last week, a critically endangered sand tiger shark washed ashore at Tappens Beach in Little Compton.