A PHOTO has shown a Risso\u2019s dolphin tangled in monofilament line in Shetland waters.<\/b><\/p>\n
The image, showing line on the animal\u2019s fin, was taken by Hugh Harrop of Shetland Wildlife off Trondra on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Harrop said monofilament is a \u201csilent killer of wildlife and can remain in the environment for hundreds of years\u201d.<\/p>\n
NatureScot marine sustainability manager Karen Hall said one piece of good news was that the dolphin had moved off and was seen off St Ninian\u2019s on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s moving unrestricted, it\u2019s diving,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom that point of view it\u2019s able to move about the place, and it\u2019s not restricting its feeding or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hall said that \u201cnobody likes to see any wildlife directly affected by humans essentially, and that\u2019s what this is\u201d.<\/p>\n
But it obviously remains unclear where the line has come from, with the marine mammal advisor saying it could well have originated from across the Atlantic.<\/p>\n
Hall also highlighted that there are restrictions in place about the use of monofilament material, which is used in fisheries, in Scottish waters.<\/p>\n
When asked if entanglement is becoming a more common occurrence, the marine mammal specialist said it is difficult to know.<\/p>\n
The main evidence comes when things go \u201cbadly wrong\u201d \u2013 such as strandings on beaches, but at that stage the animal is dead.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult without close in photos of knowing how many animals are living in the wild with recognisable entanglements,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n
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