A giant humpback whale was saved by rescuers at the weekend after getting entangled in fishing ropes in a Sutherland loch.
Members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue freed the 40ft whale which had been caught in gear in Loch Eriboll near Durness on Saturday.
Rescuers came from all over Scotland to help save the mammal, which was first reported trapped on Friday.
Specialist disentanglement equipment was used in the rescue – some of it flown from London to Inverness, and then taken by road to the scene.
Staff from a local fish farm also helped with boats and crew.
“The whale was in a loch so it was relatively calm, but it still took several hours to free. It had become trapped in creel pots,” said Stephen Marsh of the BDMLR.
“Our specialist disentanglement team, led by Ali Jack, managed to free the whale. It was a happy outcome.”
Mr Jack, BDMLR’s Scottish director, described the difficult operation:”The fish farm crew were already there and launched their boats to allow the BDMLR volunteers to locate and assess the stricken animal.
“The whale had moved from its last known position but splashing and whale blows to the north east showed where it was. The whale was very active, possibly due it struggling to keep its head above water on the high tide. The thrashing of the whale actually broke the line that ran round its head down to the seabed, allowing the humpback to dramatically breach in front of the team.
“The line was entangled around the tail stock and flukes and there were also at least two wraps could be seen around the head behind the blowholes.
“Cuts were made on the lines around the left tail fluke and to the line around the pectoral fin, but this had an unexpected effect in that cutting this line released the whale from the control line and the seabed. The whale swam off still with a few wraps around its tail, but these were loose and non-threatening.”
There have been at least four whale deaths caused by entanglement in Scottish waters in the past 12 months.
