At approximately 8.50am on Wednesday 13 March BDMLR received a from a member of public who had found a live harbour porpoise on the beach at Maryport, Cumbria. Upon seeing the animal struggling he tried to return the animal to the water, but not being able to get beyond the surf, it soon beached itself again.
Within 20 minutes Lyn Trussell (Marine Mammal Medic) was on scene to help and advise the Coastguard team who were already with the porpoise. The animal, thought to be a juvenile, was in good condition with just a few superficial injuries caused by the stranding, so a decision was quickly made to return it to the water as soon as possible. The Coastguard team entered the water with the porpoise and once in deeper water the animal responded straight away and swam strongly out to sea. The harbour porpoise is a species common to the area and may have been caught out by the bad weather and stormy seas.
The area was checked at midday and there was no sign of the animal restranding, and we would like to thank our team who were involved on scene and on the phones, as well as the Maryport Coastguard Rescue Team who helped to refloat the animal back out again.