The pod of three orca killer whales which attracted thousands of spectators to Cork harbour over the past fortnight was believed to be heading back out to Atlantic waters yesterday.
The Naval Service and gardai in Cobh stood down their patrol of an exclusion zone which was placed around the pod late on Monday night when the whales began moving towards White Bay and Crosshaven. Yesterday, the whales were reported to be swimming close to Roches Point at the mouth of Cork harbour.
"If they had come back in, they would be in with the incoming tide this evening," Mr Eddie English of the International Sailing Centre in Cobh told The Irish Times yesterday. "We think they may have gone out to join several pods of orcas a few miles off the coast."
The Garda confirmed yesterday that cautions were handed out to people using pleasure craft and jet skis who breached the 500-metre exclusion zone set up by the Cork port authority to protect the whales when they were near the shore at Cobh. However, no prosecutions were in train, according to the Garda. Harassment of the whales by smaller craft in the outer harbour prompted them to swim farther inland, up to the Cork city quays at one point.
Orcas are relatively common in Irish waters and have been sighted regularly this year by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG). However, the last time an orca was seen at such close quarters was in 1974, when one nicknamed "Dopey Dick" spent three days feeding in Lough Foyle.
The IWDG believes these orcas were probably following a shoal of fish when they ventured into Cork harbour on June 5th. "There was probably a lot of salmon around, and mullet up the river when they went into the city quays," said Mr Eddie English. "I'd say they gorged themselves."
Orcas, distinctive in their black-and-white colouring, are social animals and only earned their "killer" reputation because of their appetite for other cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), rather than humans. They are not a warm-water species, and their presence is not a signal of climate change, according to the experts.
Dr Simon Berrow of the IWDG says their presence is a timely reminder of the rich marine life and unexploited potential of whale-watching in Irish waters. Last year, for instance, giant fin whales - the second-largest living creatures - were sighted by the IWDG secretary, Mr Padraig Whooley, between five and 25 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale in Cork.
The IWDG is marking a decade of Ireland's whale and dolphin sanctuary with a call for the Government to implement the EU Habitats Directive out to the 200-mile limit. Earlier this month it criticised two Government ministers for permitting oil and gas exploration to take place off the Irish coast without demanding environmental impact assessments before development and before production of wells.
It says that while the discovery of gas off Co Mayo could positively transform the Erris region, it was vital that the Government put the mechanisms and infrastructure in place to protect the areas's natural environment.
Currently, there are over 100 dolphins in Broadhaven Bay in Mayo, the route of the proposed pipeline onshore from the Corrib gas field. Mr Eamon Dixon, a fisherman from Ballyglass, Co Mayo, told The Irish Times yesterday that the bay was "alive" with dolphins.
Yesterday the maritime historian, Dr John de Courcy Ireland, opened an IWDG exhibition to mark the 10th anniversary of the Irish whale sanctuary in the ENFO office at 17 St Andrew's Street, Dublin. The exhibition will continue for the next 10 days.
The IWDG also plans to host a national whale watch on August 4th from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at six locations: Old Head of Kinsale, Co Cork; Loop Head, Co Clare; Kilcummin Head, Co Mayo; Ramore Head, Co Antrim; Howth Head, Co Dublin; and Hook Head, Co Wexford.
Website: www.iwdg.ucc.ie
