Humpback whale off South East Ireland – Breaching and harassment. - Photo and video

Young humpback breaching of South East Ireland. Photo credit Padraig Whooley/IWDG

Courtesy of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG)
February 2010. A humpback whale has been resident inshore off Baginbun Head in County Wexford for some 3 weeks now. The whale has been very active, with breaching displays observed on many occasions. With all the herring evident in the area it doesn't seem to be in any hurry to leave these happy hunting grounds. Fin whales have also been spotted nearby

An enourmous "herring ball" of no less than 50 metres in diameter was pushed to the surface on 31st January. The images and observations from Paddy Roche (Of the IWDG) and others on the MV Rebecca C, describe the vessel being enveloped in this surface cauldron of broiling herring. When this happened the humpback was actually outside the immediate slick, and it is unclear whether it was "bubble-netting" or deploying some other strategy for forcing the herring to the surface in such a dramatic manner.

Harassment by boats

IWDG continue to receive a steady stream of reports of boats "harrassing" the whale. Ironically, most of these reports are from people who were out on boats. It should be pointed out that every vessel actively whale watching has the potential to disturb whales. Even boats which stick rigidly to the strictest of guidelines, by their engine noise alone are contributing to "noise pollution" for these acoustic mammals. There are volumes of published work from around the world that show that poorly regulated whale watching represents a potential conservation threat to local whale populations.

Extraornary image of a huge 'herring ball' around the boat. Courtesy of the IWDG

Irish Whale and Dolphin Group isn't interested in naming and shaming individuals or boat owners, and so will refrain from publishing some of the disgraceful images which have been sent to us. But you know who you are, and so do we.

How to avoid harassment
So what can you do? Well, the obvious thing is to watch from the cliffs. It's free, you won't get sea sick, you can leave when you want, and most importantly your activity is having zero impact on the whale.

100 metres is close enough
If you do decide to take a boat trip, don't be afraid to articulate to your skipper any concerns you may have about how your boat is behaving around the whale. The chances are that your skipper will appreciate the feedback. Tell him/her you are too close if you are closer than 100m, tell him you have spent too long with the whale if you have spent much more than 30 minutes watching the same animal, tell him if you feel the whale has had to change course to avoid a collision as a result of your boat not maintaining a parallel course, tell him to slow down if you are creating a "wake" off your stern.

The onus is on your skipper to ensure the whale is not being harassed and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) point out that ..."deliberate disturbance is an offence under sections 23 of both Habitats Regulations and the Wildlife Act." We all have a collective responsibility to ensure that this whale returns to these herring spawning grounds in the years ahead, so even more people can enjoy his annual visits.

This is a great opportunity to learn from mistakes elsewhere, and to ensure that the south east coast can offer potentially world class whale watching at this time of year. Let's not shoot the goose that lays the golden egg.