Welsh Fisherman's Drone Footage of Fin Whale Lunge Feeding Draws 100,000 Views and Iceland Hunting Scrutiny

Rhys Morgan, a passionate fisherman and oil refinery employee from Wales, captured footage of a fin whale lunge feeding in the Celtic Sea with a consumer drone he launched from his boat. Since sharing the video on social media, it has garnered over 100,000 views and nearly 2,000 likes, far exceeding his initial expectation of just "a couple of hundred likes." Viewers have tagged government officials, highlighting the issue of fin whale hunting in Iceland, which Morgan sees as a positive, unintended outcome of the video's popularity. Fin whales, the second largest species, can exceed 78 feet in length and weigh up to 77 tons, consuming around 18,000 gallons of water and krill per gulp. Dr. Marianna Chimienti from Bangor University remarked to the BBC that the sighting was an "exceptional and fortunate encounter," emphasizing that while surface feeding is typical behavior, the whale's presence in coastal waters was remarkable, especially since it should have migrated by now. Morgan, who purchased his drone last year, mentioned that the whales' size is difficult to comprehend until they come close to the boat.