Whale rescued off Union Island

A whale, which had been trapped in shallow waters off Union Island, was rescued last weekend because of the quick action of several persons.{{more}}

On Saturday, August 29, visitors enjoying the yachting waters of the Grenadines spotted the 35ft whale trapped among stones just off Frigate Rock.

Realising the danger, the yachtees called in Grenadines Dive, a dive shop on Union Island owned and managed by Glenroy Adams of Bequia.

According to information reaching Searchlight, the dive shop staff arrived on the scene within minutes of the call. With assistance from Sidiki, a private chartered yacht anchored in the area, Jeremiah Forde and Jerome Lewis, two employees of Grenadines Dive, tied the tail of the whale and pulled it out from among the stones that trapped it, while two divers in the water turned its head to face the ocean.

This process only took about five minutes, and once the whale got in a comfortable depth of 15-20 ft of water, the rope was released. “It swam like a lightening bolt into the ocean never to be seen again,” a release from Grenadines Dive said.

The whale was strong and only suffered minor bruises and scratches about its upper body from the shallow reef.

The Fin whale is the second largest to the Blue whale and the fastest swimmer of all the large whales. It feeds on small schools of fish and crustaceans. Frigate Rock is attached to Union Island via a patch of mangrove, which is a nursery for small fish species and crustaceans. It is believed that this is what attracted the large mammal in the area. The Fin whale’s birth length is 20-21 ft and they can grow up to 89ft in length and weigh up to 130 tonnes.

Manager of Grenadines Dive Glenroy Adams said he was happy to have had the opportunity to save the whale’s life. Adams is a scuba diving instructor and has over 20 years of diving experience. He has a passion for the marine environment and said he will do whatever he can to protect and reserve it.