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Entangled baleen whales in Orkney

Two entanglement incidents occurred around the Orkney islands in the last two weeks. A humpback whale had been found stranded and entangled around the island of Westray. A team of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue was thankfully able to untangle it and release it back into deeper water alive.


This week, however, help came too late. A pregnant female mink whale was found washed ashore on the island of Sanday with netting jammed in its baleen. “Based on the flank bruising and lungs, experts believe the animal was alive when she became stranded and subsequently drowned in the surf line” since she was otherwise in good condition. On a positive note, it is believed that she died relatively fast, while death due to entanglement in ghost gear can drag out for months or even years.


Ghost gear is defined as discarded, lost, damaged or otherwise abandoned fishing gear in a marine environment. According to the World Animal Protection, 640.000 tons of ghost gear are left in the ocean every year, taking about 600 years to break down. As it is made for trapping marine animals it is an especially big threat contributing to the danger of entanglement, injuring 100.000 marine mammals and turtles per year.



A pregnant female mink whale died in Orkney due to ghost gear smashed in her baleen



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