Two killer whales were spotted by fishermen trawler off the coast of Dublin on Saturday, the second sighting in as many weeks in the area.
The fishermen captured a video of two killer whales 8kms east of Rockabill, which is off the Dublin coast near Skerries, north Co Dublin.
Two weeks ago, another fishermen on another vessel, spotted a killer whale in the same area, according to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG).
Padraig Whooley, sighting officer with the IWDG, said the group had validated both recent sightings.
The IWDG was made aware of the video, posted on Facebook by one of the fishermen on the trawler, on Sunday afternoon. “The video footage is great,” Mr Whooley said.
The said the group might validate a dozen confirmed sightings of killer whales in “a good year,” Mr Whooley said.
In the video, the fisherman said the killer whale pair may be ‘John Coe’ and ‘Dopey Dick,’ from the Scottish west coast community group of killer whales.
Mr Whooley said it was “difficult to assume” the identity of the whales. ‘John Coe’, who has been spotted off the Irish coast almost “annually” since 1982, has a very distinctive dorsal fin, he said.
However, in the video footage the glare of the sun on the killer whales’ fins made identifying either of the pair as ‘John Coe’ difficult, he said.
