The presence of a family of four whales forced the maritime traffic in Barcelona to stop during the morning of Friday, August 21. Just when numerous recreational boats were in “operation exit”, the crustaceans entered the same circulation area.
The family sighted off the coast of Barcelona consisted of three adults of approximately 25 meters each and a calf of about 10 meters.
They were detected two miles from the coast by a boat of the Beach Unit of the Guardia Urbana, which at the time was investigating a current of water that had pushed two people out to sea, without consequences.
The ship immediately raised the alarm when it noticed the water chimneys characteristic of these animals.
The whales that stopped maritime traffic in Barcelona
The beautiful specimens approached the beaches in search of food, sailing aimlessly without realizing that there were numerous boats nearby. These sailed thanks to the good weather and calm sea.
For its part, the Urban Patrol was fencing them in due to the large number of boats, but the animals headed towards the port of Barcelona, which complicated the operation and forced the closure. They first headed towards the marina and then to the mouth of the Vela Hotel.
At this point they tried to divert them so that they would not collide with the ships leaving the port, to avoid any danger to both the crustaceans and the ships. Maritime traffic was immediately stopped in this area to allow the animals to leave.
The whales then entered the area of large ships and then to the breakwater, where they were able to embark on their route to the high seas, after two hours of walking around the port.
Who were the whales that stopped maritime traffic in Barcelona?
The species that visits the coast of Barcelona every year is the fin whale. It is considered the second largest animal on the planet, after the blue whale.
It can reach 25 meters in length and is the largest species that can be sighted in the Mediterranean. It is a majestic and very intelligent animal. It is a protected species because it is in danger of extinction.
Its presence on the Catalan coast has been the subject of studies to learn about it and preserve it. Such is the case of the EDMAKTUB association that since 2013 has been developing the Fin Whale Project whose researchers recently recorded 62 sightings in 51 days.
The project covers the coastal area between Barcelona and Tarragona, specifically the coastline between Castelldefels (Barcelona) and Cunit (Tarragona). The base port for the marine campaigns carried out as part of the project is Vilanova y la Geltrú (Barcelona).
