Fishermen rescue humpback whale tangled in rope off Skye

Two fisherman have rescued a humpback whale found entangled in creel fishing gear off the coast of Skye.

The creel fishermen had been fishing further south when they received a report of the entangled whale on Sunday.

A single rope had become anchored around the tail of the humpback.

The fishermen, who had Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) training, were able to haul the creels to disentangle the whale, making sure it was free of all rope.

Ellie MacLennan, SEA project co-ordinator at the University of Glasgow, said: “This was a great example of the vital role fishermen can and do play in entanglement mitigation, and the importance of understanding not just the animals involved, but also the fishing gear and ground.

“This whale was entangled in the rope between creels. As is standard in most creel gear this rope was buoyant and would have formed loops in the water which entangled the whale.

“The Scottish Entanglement Alliance is holding ongoing trials of sinking rope, which lies flat on the seabed in collaboration with Scottish creel fishermen.”