A rare sighting of a sperm whale was made in the Waterford Estuary.
Members of the public using the estuary have advised to give space to the whale which is 35-40ft in length which was first spotted Tuesday morning just off Passage East, Dunmore East Duncannon and Arthurstown in Co Wexford.
It was last sighted around 4.30pm on Tuesday but the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group are urging members of the public to be on the lookout for the whale in case of a live stranding.
Only 27 sightings have been made around the coasts of Ireland since the IWDG was established 35 years ago.
The sperm whale, the largest of the odontocetes or toothed whales are rarely seen, reflecting their habitat preference for deep canyon systems off the Continental Shelf Edge, where they think nothing of deep dives of up to two hours taking them to depths of 2,000 to 3,000 meters.
Pádraig Whooley of the IWDG explained in an online post that such places are typically a long way offshore, “unless (a person lives) on Mayo’s, Mullet Peninsula, and so from the Irish south coast, you’d need to motor offshore for some eight to 10 hours before you’d find yourself in the zone and even then you’ve got your work cut out for you.
“The result is that we’ve only recorded sperm whales alive (as sightings) on a mere 27 occasions.”
Mr Whooley continued: “(Tuesday) was one such rare event, and these circumstances for good reason tend to bring out the pessimists in us, as experience tells us that sperm whales, at least healthy sperm whales are hardly ever recorded inshore, and sightings of them in a few metres of water in a place like Waterford Estuary, rarer still.
“So for good reason we go straight into live stranding mobilisation mode in preparation for the worst, not that there’s an awful lot that could be done to refloat an adult sperm whale.
"The one glimmer of hope we had today was a similar incident three years ago when on June 20th, 2022 a sperm whale swam into Dursey Sound, west Cork and we waited for the inevitable news that it was grounded, dying and dead. None of these things happened. It spent the day in the sound, then turned around and headed offshore, never to be seen again, dead or alive. We breathed a collective sigh of relief as this was a bullet dodged. Tuesday, it seems, we dodged another.”
The IWDG is warning all water craft users to be mindful that sperm whales, as with all such species, are protected from wilful interference and they suggest that a minimum distance of 100 meters and not to spend longer than 15 minutes watching the whale.
“Remember, this whale is not in its natural environment and may well be stressed or unwell and we ask that you give it space, both for its and your own safety,” highlighted Mr Whooley.
