Rare humpback whale spotted on Pembrokeshire coast

A wildlife cinematographer and shark guide has spoken about the unexpected surprise and joy of seeing a humpback whale in the Celtic Deep just off the Welsh coast.

Dan Abbot, known as Sharkman Dan on his social media, shared a recording of the exciting moment just off the Pembrokeshire coast.

He has seen the large marine mammals before, on planned trips where humpback whale sightings are not as unusual, but this experience was "a complete surprise".

Lloyd Nelmes from Sea Trust said the sighting was "unusual for someone who works in the field... who probably has their eyes on the water every day", adding, "for a normal person, it's insanely rare".

Abbot guides blue shark snorkelling trips off of Pembrokeshire and was on a scheduled snorkelling trip in the Celtic Sea on 25 September when he discovered the rare find.

The group had just left the snorkelling site after seeing multiple sharks and were 25-30 miles offshore.

Abbot recalled seeing lots of feeding going on among bluefin tuna, dolphins and gannets which he said was not unusual in the waters there at this time of year.

When a guest on board "saw a whale blow in the distance", Abbot inititally suspected it was a minke or fin whale, the two most common whales in Welsh waters.

"I said if it's a big blow, then it's probably a fin whale," he said.

"So we then watched it blowing, quite far out, and slowly moved towards the area where there was lots of feeding going on because sometimes you can see whales lunge feeding."

"As we got a bit closer and parked the boat a bit to let things develop around us, I noticed that when it came up for a blow, it actually had white pectoral fin, which fin whales don't have," Abbot said.

"And then the other thing they don't do is they don't lift their tails out of the water, which humpbacks do. You could see barnacles around the front of the head, which fin whales don't have.

"I actually went quiet for a moment. At that point, it was pretty clear it was a humpback whale."

He continued: "I don't really get that excited, which sounds strange. I'm usually one of the quietest ones on the boat, but I think it was just because it was such a surprise to see that species.

"I'm a wildlife cameraman but when something happens like that unexpectedly and catches you off guard, there's something about it that kind of makes it even more special."

Guests on the boat were already in high spirits after the four-hour snorkelling trip, but Abbot said 'then to see a humpback whale was just an incredible way to finish the day".

Lloyd Nelmes, an aquarium manger and marine project officer with Sea Trust Wales, spotted a humpback whale in Pembrokeshire in 2024.

Nelmes said: "The whale jumped out right in front of us. It was incredible, and it's still probably my top wildlife moment of my life."

He explained that humpback whale sightings were rare but not unheard of in Welsh waters, with sightings happening once every two or three years.

Nelmes said the way to spot a humpback whale was by the overall shape, white pectoral fins, and knobbly skin also known as barnacles, as well as the whales' behaviour.

"We've seen humpbacks here on the rare occasion... but it seems to be becoming more common, which is awesome," he said.

"It's quite likely just an indication of how much food is about at the moment."

He said he had been on an "incredible" trip out to the Celtic Deep the day before Abbot's discovery and had seen six fin whales, tuna balling up and 1,000-plus dolphins, adding it was not too surprising that a humpack was "out there also making the most of the food".

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