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Humpback whale in Waterford harbour..UPDATE II!

3 August 2007

Update II 3/08/07

A report from John Crowley suggests that this humpback whale, "Boomerang" has moved west towards the Tramore area. On on 1st August it was observed at 16:30 between the Metal man and Brownstown Head.

Humpback whale tail-fluking, Waterford Hbr. 31/07/07© Joe Molloy

Alarmingly, there is some evidence that the whale has been getting some "rough treatment" by small craft owners. We've been reminded by the local NPWS Conservation Ranger that under Wildlife Act it's an offence to disturb these mammals. But we'd like to reiterate how fortunate we are to have any humpback whales in Irish waters, and would ask boat owners in the area to keep a safe distance of 200m, and to slow down to a "no wake" speed, and if they must travel with the whale that they keep a parallel course with it.

If the whale is harassed, it will likely be forced out of a possible feeding area, which would be a shame. We'd also point out that there is always some potential of risk of injury to both people and animal if vessels get too close to a humpback which can breach unpredicatably clear of the water.

Thanks for your support in this.

Pádraig Whooley
IWDG Sightings Co-ordinator

Humpback whale feeding, Waterford Hbr. 31/07/07© Joe Molloy

Update 2/08/07

It's with a certain sense of relief that we can confirm the return of the humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae known as Boomerang" or #HBIRL3 on the Irish humpback whale catalogue. It was photographed by Joe Murray on the evening of 31st July at the mouth of Waterford Harbour, and the images clearly show he was "bubble-net" feeding.

This is a truly remarkable saga of perhaps one of the most recognisable humpback whales in any European waters. IWDG have documented 25 validated sightings of him/her, most of which are from the West Cork area. Its full sightings history is available on the Photo ID section of www.iwdg.ie. If you click on the sightings option on the home page , then Photo ID and select "humpback whale" from the drop-down menu, you can track its movements since his early encounters with Whale Watch impressario Colin Barnes back in 2001.

Humpback whale surfacing Waterford Hbr. 31/07/07© Joe Molloy

The following year it was 1st photographed by Skipper Joe Aston from his yacht, "Anna M" on 15 & 16th July 2002, off Mine Head, Co. Waterford, but a few weeks later it showed up in the West Cork area. In each of the following years 2003, 2004 & 2005 Colin Barnes and IWDG have tracked his/her movements in the same period of last week in August to 1st week in Sept., and in same West Cork locations in the waters close to the Galley Head area.

We failed to observe him/her in 2006, but whether this was due to poor weather or its absence from the Irish South coast was not clear, but given that we had seen it on each of the five previous years, there was some cause for concern that it had either died, or dropped Ireland off its travel schedule. So we are delighted that he/she has returned to the South coast, and it will be interesting to see whether it now continues to travel West towards West Cork.

If you do observe this or any other humpback whales in Irish waters, the most useful images for photo identification are taken from behind the whale as they "tail-fluke" or lift their tails out of the water before a deep dive. This exposes the ventral surface of their flukes which are all uniquely marked and can confirm whether they are currently on the Irish Humpback whale catalogue, or if they are new whales.

To date we have just six humpback whales catalogued in Irish waters, and such a high resighting rate suggests very low numbers. Please be mindful that humpbacks remain "Globally Endangered", and that sightings of this enigmatic species are a rare priviledge. So we'd ask boat operators to bear this in mind when in close proximity to humpback whales in particular, and to keep a safe distance and not to disturb them if feeding.

This is hopefully great timing for our Whale Watch Ireland 2007 event this Sunday 5th August.

IWDG would like to thank Joe Molloy, Peter Curran & Bill Deavy for their time and effort put into securing images and battling numerous IT related obstacles in getting them to us!

Pádraig Whooley

IWDG Sightings Co-ordinator

Report 1/08/07

IWDG have just received the 1st validated humpback whale record of 2007, which was observed at the entrance to Waterford harbour at 19:30 on 31/07/07.

Joe Molloy had heard an earlier report by crab fishermen of a large whale about 6 miles south of Hook Head. Later that day he ventured out and they encountered the same whale between Hook Head and Dunmore East area.

There is no doubt as to its species, as it's length, large blow and description of it's tail-fluking, exposing a white leading edge of the fluke are all consistent with this species. Interestingly, the bay area seems to have a lot of sprats and mackerel as well as dolphins, so it's perhaps not surprising that a large whale has turned up. There is little doubt other than it was feeding, as Joe described it's "bubble- netting ", a feeding technique used by humpback whales.

IWDG are awaiting photographs and video footage taken by Joe and his friends which will we hope help us establish whether this is an exisiting individual on the Irish Humpback whale catalogue or a new animal. We'll add these to this article once received.

This is the 1st record of a humpback whale in Irish waters in 9 months, and follows a sightings of what was probably another humpback whale by Simon Berrow off Loop Head, Co. Clare on 29th July. Hopefully these sightings are a preview of what we might expect to see this Sun. 5th August during Whale Watch Ireland 2007.

We'll keep you informed

Pádraig Whooley

IWDG Sightings Co-ordinator

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