Minke whale source of food

SIR, — Thank you for a fine photograph of the minke whale in last week’s edition.

It is a beautiful creature and a pertinent reminder of how close we live to the vast wilderness we call the sea.

My friend and occasional skipper, Billy Walsh, called the minke whale the ‘herring crawn’.

For several decades, this whale has been gorging itself on the fish shoals around our shores but ended up dead on Corbett’s Strand. 

The ocean’s bounty is not without limits and here is a food source it can ill afford to lose. 

Will it be possible to tow the whale out to deeper waters? 

Anchored down, it would be a Godsend to shrimps, crabs and lobsters which produce the zooplankton to feed pollack, mackerel and herring; a treat for other minkes and those of us who enjoy a bit of seafood. 

Thankfully, I would not be involved in this recycling, but whatever the difficulties, surely a better alternative to dragging the carcass away to rot in landfill.

Yours etc,

JIM MANLEY, 

Lecale Conservation.