An amateur wildlife photographer snapped a rare sighting of a humpback whale of the coast of Portland - but it wasn’t all good news. 

Peter Moore spotted the animal from Chesil Cove at around 2.30pm on Sunday, with what is thought to be an lobster pot buoy tangled around it.

“I photograph wildlife for fun so carry a camera around with me. I’d just arrived at Chesil Cove when a couple told me to keep my eyes out for what they thought was a whale or dolphin they’d spotted,” he said. 

“The first thing I saw was the orange buoy which had thrashing white water around it as if it was being dragged. Then I saw the spout and the fin come up - that’s how I got onto it.” 

Mr Moore said he was overwhelmed by the amount of attention the photos had gathered. 

“It’s an amazing thing. With Blue Planet on recently and being so popular, people are really keen on marine animals and the issue they face.

“Obviously there’s mixed feelings. It’s an amazing beast to see but this one seemed to be tangled in some fishing gear. It doesn’t appear to be stopping it’s ability to move about.”

Mr Moore said he contacted British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) who identified the whale as a humpback and volunteers attempted to track it down - but, despite the whale being spotted again on Monday, they had been unsuccessful. 

BDMLR director Geoff Parsons said: “We know there’s a whale out there but until we physically get eyes on it there’s nothing we can do.”

Mr Parsons added that as no picture they had seen included the fishing gear he was unable to determine how badly the whale was entangled. 

“Hopefully it might have freed itself. The buoy could have been stuck on it for years or it could have recently got caught. We just don’t know,” he said. 

Mr Parsons said they identified the whale by its distinct dorsal fin. 

Marine awareness officer for Dorset Wildlife Trust, Julie Hatcher said she did not think she had ever heard of a humpback sighting in the Dorset. 

“They are a species that was practically decimated by whaling. Since having protection they seem to be bouncing back which is very good news but they are no where near back to what they used to be. they still face a lot of hazards. Fishing gear is a big problem as is the ingestion of marine plastics,” she said. 

She added she believed the whale was probably feeding as Lyme Bay, where a whale was spotted for several days in March last year, was a very rich area. 

“It’s really important that if people see the whale they report it to the BDMLR so they can get out and help it,” she said. 

She added as the whales were protected species people were advised to not get too close to them or startle them in any way.