A dead whale has washed up on a Scots beach with signs of entanglement injuries, just weeks after two other whales were rescued from fishing lines off the Isle of Skye.
The young male humpback was spotted on Friday, February 16, between Claonaig ferry terminal and Skipness in Argyll and Bute. It was subsequently reported to the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS).
A picture of the mammal was shared on social media on Monday morning, which showed signed of entanglement injuries. Shared on Facebook, a local wrote: “A humpback whale has washed up dead with evidence of entanglement injuries. The young male was spotted on the beach between the ferry terminal at Claonaig and Skipness.”
On January 30, another whale became lodged in mooring lines of a fish farm around 10 miles north of Portree, Skye’s largest town.
And just a week and a half after that, a second whale was rescued from fishing line just off the coast of Skye, near a salmon fish farm.
Local fishermen and rescuers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) worked to save the mammal, which was eventually released.
Speaking after last week’s incident, one local fisherman told the Daily Record: “There’s another whale caught in ropes near the fish farm. Locals thinks something must attracting the whales.
“However it might be that the two who have recently become trapped may have been responding to calls from the first one that got stuck.”
Another fisherman said: “The whale got caught in a creel net. You can see it easily from the shore. I don’t know why this keeps happening, we’ve never had this happen so much.
“I speculate that there has been even more whales getting caught in things like this that we just haven’t heard about. I think it’s time that something needs to be done about it, the fish were here before us.
“It’s a shame that all the rescuers get is a well done, they should be getting something more for all the good work that they do.”
Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, British Divers Marine Life Rescue and Argyll and Bute Council have been contacted for comment.