Question raised as large humpback whale is washed up on Mayo beach

The discovery of a dead large humpback whale on the beach at Doughmakeon, Louisburgh, has raises the environmental question as to how the remains can best be disposed of.

“It would be bad (for the environment) just to leave it on the beach and rot,” stated Sue O’Toole, who discovered the dead mammal while on her regular walk on the beach this morning. The whale beached this morning before 6 a.m.

According to Sue, the whale was dead before it reached the shore.

The discovery of dead whales along the west Mayo coastline is not a regular occurrence.

Sue O’Toole said it is the first humpback she has seen in her 30 years residing here.

Members of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) have visited the beach and examined and measured the carcass.

IWDG says its research is showing that, for the first time in almost 25 years, humpback whales are shifting from the southwest (Cork and Kerry) to the northwest (Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal).