Beach users in the Burnham-On-Sea area are being asked to look out for a high-tech buoy worth more than £40,000 which is adrift in the Bristol Channel.
The yellow wave recording buoy was stationed in Weston-super-Mare and is one of many buoys operated by the South West Coastal Monitoring Programme.
It broke free or was cut free of its mooring several days ago and has not been seen since.
A spokesman for the South West Coastal Monitoring Programme says it plays a vital role in collecting and transmitting real-time data about wave heights, direction and water temperature.
