Featured image by Kev L. Smith
A humpback whale found caught in rope off Donegal Bay is under close surveillance by conservationists at the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.
The massive mammal was recently detected on camera trailing rope behind it. The rope appears to be cutting into its tail fluke.
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said they are monitoring the whale to see if it can free itself from the rope, or if intervention is needed to help it.
They say it’s currently not possible to restrict this whale to cut off the rope as it is too mobile.
“A very sad predicament and one that must be having a very negative effect on the whale, though its body condition is not currently concerning. Entanglement by humpback whales is an emerging issue in some parts of the world,” a spokesperson said.
This whale is not known to the IWDG and has been given a new catalogue number #126. It is not one of the whales that have been regularly photographed in Donegal Bay in recent months.
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has highlighted the issue of rope entanglement and recently worked with IMBRSea student at Atlantic Technological University Julie Fichefet who carried out a risk assessment of entanglement in pot ropes in Irish waters.
