An expert has hit out at Dublin Port after it emerged that the dead whale that washed up on Bull Island this morning is the same mammal that was found in the Liffey last week.
Local biologist Mark Collins spotted the giant sea creature this morning as he was monitoring the Alder marsh for short-eared owls.
Mr Collins said that the juvenile fin whale had washed back in after it was thrown out to sea by Dublin Port.
He told Dublin Live: “Honestly, I think it was a poor decision by Dublin Port to throw it out to sea and hope for the best.
“The juvenile fin whale was clearly sick and disoriented when it swam into the liffey a few days ago. He shouldn’t have been in the Irish sea.
“Someone in Dublin Port found it and they threw it out to sea yesterday. It’s definitely the same [whale].”
He added that fin whales are “found way off the west coast and normally you’d never even see them in the Irish Sea.”
He said that the head of the whale was completely obliterated “perhaps from a boat strike”.
He said: “Dublin Port made a strange decision just to throw it out to the sea and hope for the best. I had a strong idea it was going to wash back in.
“Normally the government take over. What I’ve heard in the past is other places actually blowing the whale up and the parts wash out to sea. That sounds a bit extreme but because we’re in a public area- Bull Island, we just have to wait and see what Dublin City Council want to do.”
We have contacted Dublin Port for a comment.
