A humpback whale has been found dead on Barra.
The young eight-
A spokesman for the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) said marks on the animal's tail suggested it had been caught in creel ropes at some point.
Humpback whale washed ashore on Barra
2 March 2016
Photo: Bruce Taylor/ Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme
He said cuts on its body were consistent with being inadvertently being snagged in fishing gear could have indirectly caused its death.
"Its an unfortunate accident as fishermen obviously do not go out intending to catch whales," said the spokesperson.
Whales can't reverse and the heavy weight of trailing ropes and creels acts "like a sea anchor so it can't feed properly and loses condition," he added.
Similar marks have been spotted on Minke whales
SMASS said: "Entanglement is the most commonly recorded cause of death recorded for Minke whales in Scottish waters, and has been observed in several humpback whales and other species as well, including a killer whale stranded on Tiree earlier this year."
There have been 21 strandings of humpback whales recorded in the UK since 2001.