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Whales spotted on ‘fintastic’
Foyle
17.06.10
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by Linda McGrory
MOVILLE man James McColgan got more than he
bargained for this week when he nearly hooked a
basking shark while out fishing for mackerel in
Lough Foyle.
Foyle users are having ‘a whale’ of a time after
several sightings of sharks, dolphins and other
large marine mammals this week. |
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James’ friend Joe
Doherty, who sent us these photos, said they were
stunned while out fishing on Tuesday evening.
“On Tuesday evening, myself and James were fishing
mackerel behind Moville Lighthouse and were watching
a couple of basking sharks feeding.
“We also saw a pod of harbour porpoises and then
about 60 metres from the boat, a fin whale surfaced
and blew. We waited and hoped to get it on camera,
but no luck,” said Joe.
Meanwhile, he said he was speaking to a local golfer
who spotted a pod of fin whales heading towards the
mouth of the lough early yesterday.
“The mackerel is abundant as we caught plenty on the
high tide. It goes to show that Lough Foyle must be
very rich in plankton, sand eels and sprat.”
Scientists recently identified the waters off Malin
Head as a basking shark hotspot. It seems Lough
Foyle might become another ‘fintastic’
whale-watching centre in Inishowen. |
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