Two huge whales that washed up dead on different locations of the Scottish coastline over the last couple of weeks died of rope entanglement, experts have claimed.
A giant 9.60m long female humpback whale was first seen floating in the Firth of Forth on September 29 and a week later a 5.75m long female minke washed ashore 100 miles north in Johnshaven on the Aberdeenshire coast.
The Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) has now investigated the deaths using tissue samples and detailed images of the corpses and is “confident” both died from rope entanglement.
Sadly, the organisation said these cases highlight the significant welfare and conservation issues caused by entanglement in floating rope around Scotland and bring the annual count of entanglement cases to 12.
The Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme said: “Two more grim examples of the ongoing issue of marine entanglements were reported to the SMASS team last week. The first was a 9.60m long female humpback whale which washed ashore in Granton, Edinburgh with skin abrasions highly consistent with rope entanglements.
“A week later and 100 miles north, a 5.75m long female minke whale washed ashore in Johnshaven on the Aberdeenshire coast. Due to issues with access and disposal, we weren’t able to do a complete necropsy on either case; however, thanks to the help of SMASS volunteers, we have tissue samples, measurements and detailed images of both animals and are confident that entanglement was the most likely cause of death.
“Both of these were sub-adult animals in moderate body condition, suggesting they had been successfully feeding prior to becoming entangled. The humpback whale had bruising and abrasions across the throat pleats and around the pectoral fin consistent with some sort of rope.
“The minke whale had much more obvious signs of entanglement, with a deep encircling laceration around the tailstock and twin linear lesions on the underside of the fluke consistent with a rope which was under tension and had dug so far into the tissue it had almost amputated the fluke, most likely whilst the animal was still alive.”
They continued: “As we often find, neither whale stranded with any material remaining attached, meaning it is not possible to say if this was active fishing gear, marine debris, or rope from a non-marine source. This also highlights the significant welfare and conservation issues caused by entanglement in floating rope around Scotland.
“Entanglement is the most commonly diagnosed cause of death in both minke and humpback whales in Scottish waters, and these two cases take the total number of entanglement reports received by SMASS this year to twelve (other species reported entangled this year include grey seals and basking sharks).”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond.Sign up to our daily newsletter.