News / Magnus’ thrilling humpback whale encounter
A SHETLAND fisherman with an eye for a good photo enjoyed an opportune start to the year when he witnessed three humpback whales feeding on a haul of mackerel 50 miles north of Cape Wrath.
Magnus Polson from Whalsay was working as a deck hand on the pelagic trawler Altaire when the giant whales surfaced next to the boat on Sunday afternoon.
The 39 year old father of two said the crew regularly saw killer whales when pumping fish aboard, but not humpbacks.
“Along with 15-20 orcas, three humpbacks surfaced and hung around for ten minutes before moving off,” he said.
“It was a huge surprise to everyone when they appeared. I always have my camera just inside the door just in case and I was glad I had it at hand.
“We’d just finished pumping when someone shouted ‘humpbacks, go get your camera’ so I ran inside, got the camera and had to change lenses as they were so close.”
More of Magnus’ wildlife photos can be seen on his website.
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