A Taste of Shetland - 11 to 12 November 2025
Saturday 8 November 2025
 11.2°C   SSE Gentle Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

News / Lerwick lifeboat crew on hand to cut bird free from net

Photo courtesy of the Lerwick Lifeboat crew.

THE RNLI’s motto of ‘saving lives at sea’ extended to animals on Monday evening when the Lerwick Lifeboat came to the aid of a gannet wrapped in fishing net.

Coxswain Darren Harcus said the lifeboat had been on an exercise out Bressay Sound when it came across the stricken bird.

“We were just making our way in and one of the crew spotted it,” he said.

“He was trying to fly away with a net wrapped around its wing.”

The lifeboat crew, who managed to cut the netting and set the bird free, shared a photograph online of the gannet being helped to safety.

Local anti-litter campaign Dunna Chuck Bruck also shared the photo on Facebook, adding:

“We urge people working at sea to dispose of their nets and ropes appropriately and we urge people walking on our coastlines to pick up what you see.”

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Categories
Advertisement 

Sign up
for our Newsletters

Stay in the loop with newsletters tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for daily updates, weekly highlights, or updates on jobs or property, you can choose exactly what you want to receive.

Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.