News / Magnus’ thrilling humpback whale encounter
A SHETLAND fisherman with an eye for a good photo enjoyed an opportune start to the year when he witnessed three humpback whales feeding on a haul of mackerel 50 miles north of Cape Wrath.
Magnus Polson from Whalsay was working as a deck hand on the pelagic trawler Altaire when the giant whales surfaced next to the boat on Sunday afternoon.
The 39 year old father of two said the crew regularly saw killer whales when pumping fish aboard, but not humpbacks.
“Along with 15-20 orcas, three humpbacks surfaced and hung around for ten minutes before moving off,” he said.
“It was a huge surprise to everyone when they appeared. I always have my camera just inside the door just in case and I was glad I had it at hand.
“We’d just finished pumping when someone shouted ‘humpbacks, go get your camera’ so I ran inside, got the camera and had to change lenses as they were so close.”
More of Magnus’ wildlife photos can be seen on his website.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -
- Remove non-local ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.