Shannon Estuary ships asked to cut speed after 'unprecedented' sighting of humpback whale
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Large ships in the Shannon Estuary have been asked to reduce their speed to avoid hitting a humpback whale which has been spotted in an Irish river for the first time ever.
Fears have been raised of potential “ship-strike” if speeds in the estuary are not reduced to 10 knots or 19km/h, which could damage vessels and injure or kill the young whale.
The immature humpback whale has been spotted off Clare’s southern coast on a number of occasions over the past week. It was most recently seen feeding south of the village of Querrin, close to Moneypoint Power Station, on Tuesday evening, December 10.
According to The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), the appearance of a humpback whale in the estuary is “unprecedented” and the whale is likely to remain there for at least a month before undertaking a 4,000km migration to breed off West Africa.
The group is appealing to ships travelling in the estuary and the Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) to introduce a temporary speed limit in the waterway.
“Ship-strike, or when large vessels hit whales, is quite a problem in some parts of the world. We have seen big ships coming into ports like Rotterdam with whales actually on the bows of the ships after being hit in open ocean,” said Simon Berrow of the IWDG.
“It is not normally a big issue in Ireland but now that we have a lot of traffic in the Shannon Estuary and we have a whale, which you wouldn’t expect to see in the Shannon Estuary, there could be an issue.
“We have asked the port company to ask pilots to reduce their speed to around 10 knots. They said that they would and we are hopeful that they have passed on that message to the pilots.
“This is a really critical time for this young whale to put on food reserves and grow before it migrates 3,000 or 4,000 miles down to its breeding ground.”
A spokesperson for the Shannon Foynes Port Company said they are in contact with the IWDG but declined to confirm if a speed limit was being introduced.
“We are aware of a humpback whale sighting on the estuary and have been in contact with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. Any reported sightings by ships or SFPC personnel will be reported to IWDG. SFPC continues to monitor the situation and will engage with the IWDG as necessary,” said the spokesperson.
The IWDG are tracking the humpback whale and are using drones to measure and possibly identify it. The group have records of dozens of humpback whales which have appeared in Irish waters and can be identified by markings and blemishes on their skin.
“We have been monitoring humpback whales in Ireland for more than 20 years and we can track individual whales. Over the past 20 years the number of whales has increased year on year,” continued Mr Berrow.
They used to be off of West Cork, but we are seeing more humpbacks off Loop Head in recent years, usually in the autumn. Over the past two years the humpbacks have moved really far north, up as far as Donegal Bay, probably driven by changes in the distribution of the fish that they feed on because of climate change.
“We never, ever expected a humpback whale to appear in the Shannon Estuary. To be honest with you, if someone had told me this a month ago I wouldn’t have believed them. I have spoken to some of the old folks [in West Clare] and none of them ever remember seeing the likes of a humpback whale in the Shannon Estuary. It is unprecedented."
Many of the whales which appear off the west coast of Ireland will migrate to West Africa to breed after spending a number of weeks feeding in Irish waters.