Nature / Photo shows dolphin’s fin tangled in monofilament line
A PHOTO has shown a Risso’s dolphin tangled in monofilament line in Shetland waters.
The image, showing line on the animal’s fin, was taken by Hugh Harrop of Shetland Wildlife off Trondra on Tuesday.
Harrop said monofilament is a “silent killer of wildlife and can remain in the environment for hundreds of years”.
NatureScot marine sustainability manager Karen Hall said one piece of good news was that the dolphin had moved off and was seen off St Ninian’s on Wednesday.
“It’s moving unrestricted, it’s diving,” she said.
“From that point of view it’s able to move about the place, and it’s not restricting its feeding or anything like that.”
Hall said that “nobody likes to see any wildlife directly affected by humans essentially, and that’s what this is”.
But it obviously remains unclear where the line has come from, with the marine mammal advisor saying it could well have originated from across the Atlantic.
Hall also highlighted that there are restrictions in place about the use of monofilament material, which is used in fisheries, in Scottish waters.
When asked if entanglement is becoming a more common occurrence, the marine mammal specialist said it is difficult to know.
The main evidence comes when things go “badly wrong” – such as strandings on beaches, but at that stage the animal is dead.
“It’s difficult without close in photos of knowing how many animals are living in the wild with recognisable entanglements,” Hall said.
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