Volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) have freed a humpback whale that had become entangled off the coast of the Scottish island of Skye.
The initial report of the entanglement was made by the staff of a local salmon farm, in whose equipment the whale had become caught, on the morning of Thursday 30 January.
Members of the BDMLR’s Large Whale Disentanglement Team were able to reach the location the same afternoon with others arriving later in the evening – some having travelled from as far away as Cornwall.
The team made an initial on-site assessment, recording underwater and aerial footage to assess the condition of the whale and its state of entanglement.
The whale was found to have rope wrapped around its head, but with light fading and some members of the team yet to arrive, a decision was taken not to attempt to free the animal until morning.
Cutting the rope incorrectly may have freed the whale to swim while still leaving it entangled, creating the possibility that it would be unable to feed and starve to death in the open ocean.
Analysis of the underwater footage showed that the decision was a wise choice, as the rope was wrapped twice around the whale’s head and left pectoral fin, rather than the single wrap the team had first identified.
The team planned the rescue overnight, however, when they arrived on site at first light on Friday morning, they found that the rope had tightened further and needed to change their plan in order to effect a successful rescue.
Using just a small RIB to approach the large, powerful and likely very stressed whale, the team cut through the rope while continually reassessing the situation, and were able to free the whale by around 10.30 am.
In the process of removing the ropes, they found that they were not of the same type used by the salmon farm, likely indicating that the whale had been previously entangled, and it was these older ropes that had caught on the fish farm’s equipment.
After the whale spent a few minutes adjusting to its new situation, it began moving and was later ‘seen heading north, swimming strongly, diving, and returning to the surface’.
In a press release announcing the rescue, the BDMLR team thanked its local Marine Mammal Medics – citizen volunteers who have undertaken BDMLR training in assisting with rescues and preventing members of the public from getting close to the whale.
The charity also praised the staff of Organic Sea Harvest – the salmon farm where the whale had become trapped – for logging the initial call and subsequently suspending operations to assist with the rescue.
In a statement on its Facebook Page, Organic Sea Farm said it was ‘delighted that the humpback whale entangled at our salmon farm has been freed’, adding that members of staff would continue to monitor the whale’s movements and provide any further assistance to the authorities.’
‘During the rescue, it became clear that the whale had previously been entangled and was carrying old ropes of a type not used by Organic Sea Harvest,’ continued the statement. ‘It was this existing entangled rope which caught onto the farm moorings as it swam by.
‘Thankfully, the BDMLR team were not only able to free the whale from the salmon farm, but they were also able to free it of the other ropes it had been carrying.’
‘This was an extremely difficult and dangerous rescue, with hours of planning needed as two sections of rope were caught around the whale,’ said a BDMLR representative. ‘The team first freed the whale’s pectoral fin leaving another section of rope caught around the whale’s head which was wrapped tightly, cutting into its skin.’
‘After viewing the underwater footage they managed to make the final cut and the whale slowly drifted off, exhausted. Drone footage later captured the whale diving and returning to the surface, showing all those great whale behaviours.’
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue relies on donations to carry out animal rescues that are often extremely dangerous and very expensive. Visit BDMLR’s JustGiving page to make a donation, and consider training as a Marine Mammal Medic (no experience required) to help out in your area.
