Loch Ness Monster sightings have halved this year but it's red tape and not a lack belief in Nessie behind the lack of reports.
There were just seven recorded by the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, fewer than half of 2021's total.
But that was because of a tightening-up of the criteria over webcam sightings - not because people have given up hope that the creature of Scottish folklore doesn't exist.
Just one webcam image was accepted by the register this year - compared to 10 last year - and several of those were from just one person - dedicated Nessie watcher Eoin O'Fagan from Ireland.
In fact, webcam glimpses of Nessie made up more than half of 2021's 16 sightings.
But this year, the only such image accepted was from a watcher in Ireland who saw an "unexplained" moving object off Urquhart Castle, said to be a favourite haunt of the monster.
Nessie certainly did not believe in 'loch-down' in 2021 with a record number of sightings this century.
That year even ended with a snack in the shape of Nessie on sale on eBay for more than £630,000!
While another of the Cheetos corn puffs of the monster was more reasonable at just over £210.
However, Gary Campbell, keeper of the official register, said today: "This year has been an average year for sightings - and that is due to a much stricter acceptance by the webcam operators of what is a clear unexplained sighting.
"Their criterion has changed and we accept that. In an average year we have about four or five good sightings, so 2022 was very typical. Nessie has not gone away."
The year's sixth accepted sighting of the Loch Ness Monster came after a mother and daughter visiting from the east of Scotland reported seeing a strange black shape at 5.24pm on October 11.
They told the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register: "200 yards off the bank we noticed a long break in the water which was otherwise still and calm.
"As we watched, a black lump appeared out of the water and sat for approximately 30 seconds before disappearing once again under the water. After another 30 seconds the black lump resurfaced for a shorter amount of time before disappearing under the water again.
"The lump appeared to be boxy in shape and about the size of a football. It did not appear to swim about, rather it just bobbed and then disappeared under the water before resurfacing to do the same a second time."
The glimpse came after the hunt for Nessie was given a hi-tech boost with more webcams installed to spot her.
Visit Inverness Loch Ness (VILN) has put in five new webcams along Loch Ness, making it easier for avid armchair Nessie hunters, 365 days a year.
Previously, many of the accepted sightings of Nessie in recent years have been from a single monitor - by people as far away as China and the USA.
The new cameras are located at Craigdarroch Hotel, Foyers; Drovers Lodge near Drumnadrochit; Shoreland Lodges Fort Augustus; Loch Ness Clansman Hotel; and Airanloch B&B, Lochend; and live feeds will be available to watch from VILN's website
Michael Golding, CEO at Visit Inverness Loch Ness, said: "We are delighted to be able to provide live footage of the beautiful Loch Ness every day of the year.
"For people all over the world to watch Loch Ness through the changing seasons and get a glimpse of the beautiful scenery and abundant wildlife is very special. Of course, the webcams will also give Nessie fans another way of spotting our elusive and most popular resident!"
In 2020 startling images of a large creature inhabiting the depths of Loch Ness were captured on sonar off Invermoriston by skipper Ronald Mackenzie, aboard his Spirit of Loch Ness tourist boat.
They were said to be the "most compelling" evidence of the existence of a Loch Ness Monster.
It left experts astounded by the clarity of the image of an object, estimated then to be 32 feet long, hovering 62 feet above the bottom and over 500 feet down.
Leading sonar expert Craig Wallace described the sonar images as "very curious", "large, clear and distinct contacts, all strangely near to the loch bed" and "100 percent genuine".
According to Google, there are about 200,000 searches each month for the Loch Ness Monster, and around 120,000 for information and accommodation close to Loch Ness. The monster mystery is said to be worth £30m to the region.
Irish missionary St Columba is first said to have encountered a beast in the River Ness in 565AD.
The official register has now logged 1,154 sightings from records and other evidence stretching back through the centuries.
