The Resident Minke Whales of the Firth of Forth, Scotland
I once spent 2-3 hours with a curious minke whale (a 35-foot, 10m long baleen whale) following our boat in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, guided by blue whale scientist Richard Sears. I used to see minkes beside the orcas off northeastern Vancouver Island. I have also spent time watching minkes off Hokkaido (see photo above) and in the waters of Massachusetts, Maine and Nova Scotia. But I was surprised when I moved to Scotland to find that minkes were living only a few miles away from me, sometimes in view from the Scottish Seabird Centre and the Isle of May, near where I live, though I didn’t realize it for a few years.
Minke whales have been seen again this year from the Isle of May, starting on 5 June and also in July, August and September in groups of 1 to 3 individuals. It is more evidence that these are summer residents feeding in and around the Firth of Forth. The usual area for sighting them is between Anstruther in Fife and the Isle of May.
Looking back on Isle of May records, I see that minke whales have been seen nearly every summer since 1990. The sightings are typically 1 to 4 animals and extend from late May to September which is the prime feeding season for northern hemisphere minke whales. Beginning in 2002, the sightings became even more common, suggesting that between 2 and 4 minke whales had become regular summer residents in the Firth of Forth.
Minke whales are commonly found on the west and north coast of Scotland, but less commonly on the east coast. Minke whales are known to have site fidelity especially in feeding areas (Dorsey et al 1980). In 2002, between 20 June and 27 July, the minke whales in the Firth of Forth were seen 20 times for an average of 1.5 animals per sighting. The animals were often observed feeding, moving back and forth across the area. Although this species is one of the most numerous of all the whales, it is under pressure by Norwegian and Icelandic whalers who take about 1,000 animals per year in waters north of Scotland. It is also under threat in the Firth of Forth from shipping traffic and things could prove disastrous if ship to ship oil transfers are allowed here. For more information, click here.
© 2006 Erich Hoyt.
Photo © 2006 Hal Sato.
Monday, 7 November 2005