2008-09-18

Rare Blue Whale Sighting In Irish Waters

This week saw the first confirmed sighting of any blue whale in Irish waters in recent decades.

The sighting was made by a member of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) on the 15th September.  Photographs of one, potentially two large whales, were later validated as of blue whales.  Acoustic monitoring studies in the North Atlantic by researchers from Cornell University, USA have indicated that some 50 blue whales pass through Irish offshore waters in late Autumn, or early winter on what is likely to be their southbound migration.  However sightings in Irish waters have not been confirmed for many years.
   
Pádraig Whooley of IWDG said:  'Even with today's relatively high level of offshore cetacean survey activity by researchers and Marine Mammal Observer alike, sightings of this species remain extremely rare events, reflecting both their preference for offshore shelf edge waters and their globally low numbers as a result of decades of exploitation by commercial whale fisheries.'

It is hoped that the recent sighting will herald a new era for blue whale sightings off the coast of Ireland and the South West of England. 

For more go to www.iwdg.ie