Fleet steps in to save whales from warships
Local seafarers asked to herd pod away from loch close to Faslane naval base before Nato exercise
THEIR usual mission is a spot of fishing, or a leisurely voyage taking in the picturesque scenes of the Scottish west coast.
But a small army of local boat owners were yesterday tasked with saving a huge military exercise involving the UK’S nuclear submarines and navies from 13 other nations, after Natobacked war games were threatened by a pod of lost whales.
Exercise Joint Warrior, a bi-annual multinational war operation also involving the British Army, RAF and forces from the US, Canada and Japan, is due to begin tomorrow.
However, the two-week operation, which involves live fire exercises, amphibious landings and anti-piracy drills, was cast into doubt after five bottlenose whales were spotted in the Gare Loch in Argyll, blocking the Faslane naval base, home to the UK’S Trident nuclear deterrent.
There were fears that the whales, hundreds of miles from their normal location, could become more distressed due to the sonar used by the military vessels, given their high sensitivity to underwater sound.
The Ministry of Defence admitted that its plans for the operation could have to be overhauled due to environmental concerns and to comply with animal protection legislation.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue group was yesterday asked to try to shepherd the mammals on a 26-mile journey to open water.
But as the charity organisation does not have its own boats, an appeal was made to locals to help out.
Vari Edwards, a marine mammal medic with the charity, said there had been an “amazing” response from amateur seafarers who were desperate to volunteer.
“We put an appeal out through our contacts, and it was ‘we’ll lend you this, we’ll lend you that, we’re available to help in any way at all’,” she said. “Private boats have come from all around the region. Some of them have no toilets and they’re on the boats all day, so it’s a long, hard slog for them.
“We’ve had a lot of experience, but I’ve never been involved in anything like this before. We never want to step in, but we’ve noticed one of the whales looked extremely thin, so we had to do something to help them.”
There were around 20 boats taking part in the mission, with police and MOD vessels supplemented by the volunteers. Between six to 10 were on the water at any one time. Ms Edwards said the rescue mission was looking promising last night, although she admitted the charity and MOD would have to go “back to the drawing board” if it failed.
David Devoy, area coordinator at the charity, said noise emitted from the boats could steer the whales out to sea, with the operation assisted by “spotters” on the land. It got under way at around noon yesterday. Boats’ positions were coordinated by radio, in an effort to create a barrier that would prevent the animals turning in the wrong direction.
At around 6.30pm the operation was stood down due to the loss of daylight after two unsuccessful attempts to shepherd the animals out of the loch.
Northern bottlenose whales are a deep-diving species normally found off the edge of the continental shelf to the west of the UK and Ireland. “It is very unusual for them to be in coastal waters,” a charity spokesman said. “However we have had similar incidents in recent years where animals of the same species have entered lochs, including Loch Long, that have left of their own accord without intervention.
“We recently became aware that a significant military exercise is due to begin next week, and as whales are particularly sensitive to underwater sound, have been concerned about the effect it may have on the animals.”
The whales have been monitored for around a month, although the military exercise, as well as the concerns at signs of distress from the mammals, led to yesterday’s rescue mission.
An MOD spokesman also said: “The Royal Navy takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and continues to work with the relevant UK authorities to ensure all practical measures required to reduce environmental risk and comply with legislation are taken.”