The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) says it’s validated the first sighting of a North Atlantic right whale in Irish waters since its records began.
Footage received by the group on Monday evening (15 July) shows the tail fluke of a large whale in the waters of Donegal Bay near Slieve League.
“In situations like this, the first thing is to eliminate the usual suspects and in Irish coastal waters, the only whale that routinely lifts its tail clear of the water before taking a deep dive, is the humpback whale, and this clearly was no humpback,” IWDG sightings officer Pádraig Whooley says.
“So not only could we rule out this species, but along with the humpback, we could include the likes of minke, fin and sei whales who simply don’t tail fluke.”
Within an hour of that report, Whooley says there more clues: “This time of the whale logging almost lifeless on the surface, again not something we see often among our rorquals.”
With further reports and video clips coming in late last night, the group narrowed down to one of two marine wildife species, both belonging to the family of right whales: the extremely rare and now functionally extinct North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glaciali) or the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus).
After consulting with experts in the north-eastern USA, the whale was confirmed to be the former. “This is an exceptionally rare record for this side of the Atlantic, where this species has been largely absent for many decades, if not longer,” Whooley says.
The North Atlantic right whale was an early victim of industrial whaling and today the species numbers just 350-400 individuals, almost all of which live along the east coast of the United States. “And the outlook for their survival isn’t a good one,” Whooley adds. “As both ship strike and entanglement in fishing gear remove individuals from a dwindling population annually.”
The IWDG urges anyone eager for a sighting of this rare ocean visitor to do so from land. “There is an enormous onus on us all to ensure this whale remains as long as it needs in Donegal bay, where it’s most likely feeding on tiny copepods, without having to run the gauntlet of small craft and sightseers,” Whooley says.
