Assessment of the Status of Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in
Shorewatch - Marine Life€¦ · This year we have spotted a record number of species of cetaceans...
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Issue 10: Autumn 2012 A world where every dolphin is safe and free Watch out for whales and dolphins from your local shoreline Shorewatch News Hello Shorewatchers! As the nights draw in and the weather becomes wilder along our coast it is a great time to look back at our achievements and remember the days when 17 layers of clothing were not needed to stay warm! Already this November we have had some beautiful sunny days with perfect watching conditions and we are still getting reports of sightings on our new Facebook page, Shorewatch and even getting the odd group of Bottlenose dolphins visiting us here at Spey Bay. 2012 has been a fantastic year for Shorewatch and I am pleased to announce we now have 26 sites along our coastline (see page 2 for further details). We have received fantastic support from all of our Shorewatch volunteers; so far this year we have conducted a total of 2,491 shorewatches, equating to 415 hours of land based observation - and the data is still coming in! In 2013 the focus will really be trying to build up the watch effort at each of our current Shorewatch sites, with a target of 60 watches a month to aim for! So if you know anyone who might be interested in becoming a Shorewatcher pass along my details; it would be great to hear from them! Information on cetacean distribution in the winter months is scarce (poor light and weather conditions make data collection more difficult). Therefore any watches you can carry out over the next few months are especially valuable. So, whenever possible keep your eyes on the sea and keep in touch about your sightings. Thank you for all your efforts this year! Kila Taylor, WDC Scottish Conservation Officer Notice a difference? WDCS has become WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Please don’t worry we are still the same organisation, still protecting whales and dolphins. We have updated our logo and created a new strong design to help us get our message across wherever it matters most for whales and dolphins. Our updated brand is going to help us achieve our vision: A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free. Find out more Whales and Dolphins. ©WDC/ Olivia Masi
Transcript of Shorewatch - Marine Life€¦ · This year we have spotted a record number of species of cetaceans...
Issue 10: Autumn 2012
A world where every dolphin is safe and free
Watch out for whales and dolphins from your local shoreline
Shorewatch News
Hello Shorewatchers!
As the nights draw in and the weather becomes wilder along our coast it is a great time to look back at our achievements and remember the days when 17 layers of clothing were not needed to stay warm! Already this November we have had some beautiful sunny days with perfect watching conditions and we are still getting reports of sightings on our new Facebook page, Shorewatch and even getting the odd group of Bottlenose dolphins visiting us here at Spey Bay.
2012 has been a fantastic year for Shorewatch and I am pleased to announce we now have 26 sites along our coastline (see page 2 for further details). We have received fantastic support from all of our Shorewatch volunteers; so far this year we have conducted a total of 2,491 shorewatches, equating to 415 hours of land based observation - and the data is still coming in!
In 2013 the focus will really be trying to build up the watch effort at each of our current Shorewatch sites, with a target of 60 watches a month to aim for! So if you know anyone who might be interested in
becoming a Shorewatcher pass along my details; it would be great to hear from them!
Information on cetacean distribution in the winter months is scarce (poor light and weather conditions make data collection more difficult). Therefore any watches you can carry out over the next few months are especially valuable. So, whenever possible keep your eyes on the sea and keep in touch about your sightings.
Thank you for all your efforts this year!
Kila Taylor, WDC Scottish Conservation Officer
Notice a difference? WDCS has become WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Please don’t worry we are still the same organisation, still protecting whales and dolphins. We have updated our logo and created a new strong design to help us get our message across wherever it matters most for whales and dolphins. Our updated brand is going to help us achieve our vision: A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free. Find out more Whales and Dolphins.
©WDC/ Olivia Masi
Shorewatchwww.wdcs.org/
Issue 10: Autumn 2012
Shorewatch News
t: 01343 820 339e: [email protected]/shorewatch
A world where every dolphin is safe and free
Watch out for whales and dolphins from your local shoreline
This year the Shorewatch programme has expanded further around our amazing Scottish coastline and even crept over the border to two sites in Newcastle! We now have 26 designated sites to watch from, please take the time to check the list of sites to make sure you are watching from your nearest site. If anyone needs any further information on any site please don’t hesitate to contact us.
This year we have spotted a record number of species of cetaceans during official shorewatches: Harbour porpoise; bottlenose dolphin; Risso’s dolphins, minke whales, common dolphins, white-beaked dolphins and orca! One lucky Shorewatcher not mentioning names… (Janet on the Isle of Lewis)! was even lucky enough to encounter a porpoises, common dolphins, a minke whale and 2 pods of orca all in the same watch!
26 Shorewatch Sites1.South Uist, Garrynamonie, 2.South Uist, Kildonan Beach, 3.Benbecula, 4.North Uist,
5.Berneray, 6.Harris, 7.Tiumpan Head (North and East), Isle of Lewis, 8.Melvaig Inn, 9.Rua Reidh Lighthouse, 10.Strathy Point, 11.Scrabster Lighthouse, 12.Thurso beach, 13.Dunnet Head (West and North), 14.Castle of Old Wick, 15.Chanonry Point, 16.North Kessock (WDC Dolphin and Seal Centre), 17.Fort George (Historic Scotland), 18.Nairn Leisure, 19.Spey Bay
(WDC Scottish Dolphin Centre), 20.Cullen Bay, 21.Macduff (Macduff Marine Aquarium), 22.Torry Battery, Aberdeen, 23.St Cyrus (SNH Nature Reserve/Angus Cetacean Awareness Project), 24.East Wemyss, Fife, 25.St. Mary’s Lighthouse, Newcastle, 26.Souter Lighthouse,
Newcastle
2012 so far..
2,491 watches = 415 hours
180 trained volunteersSpoke to 5250
people
Issue 10: Autumn 2012
Shorewatch News
t: 01343 820 339e: [email protected]/shorewatch
A world where every dolphin is safe and free
Watch out for whales and dolphins from your local shoreline
Sightings, Strandings and EventsOn Sunday 7th September a group of 26 pilot whales mass stranded in Fife between Anstruther and Pittenweem. These individuals can grow to around 20ft (6m) long, please see our species guide.
Out of the total of 32 individuals 13 had already died before rescuers had reached them. Ten of the remaining dolphins were successfully refloated, after being kept alive by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) charity volunteers, with help from the emergency services and their condition were continuously assessed by veterinary surgeons. Post mortems were carried out on all 22 dolphins which died, results are pending.
For more information please visit the BDMLR website.
Recent Pilot whale
Big Watch Weekend
Shorewatch on Facebook and twitter!
©WDC/ Kila Taylor
Our September Big Watch Weekend was a huge success; over 30 Shorewatchers took part, completing over 200 watches totalling over 27 hours of effort. Approximately 65 whales, dolphins and porpoises were observed, 50 bottlenose dolphins, 12 harbour porpoise, and 1 minke whale in Cullen Bay.
Don’t forget that collecting data on cetacean absence is just as important as presence; we also managed to speak to nearly 200 members of the public. A big thank you to everyone who took part, whatever the weather, and a little reminder to send in your data sheets if you haven’t done so yet.
I am so pleased to report that our new Shorewatch Facebook group which was set up at the be-ginning of October has been a huge success. Acting as a fantastic way to share sightings, keep up to date with what’s happening in our marine environment around Scotland and just a great way for Shorewatchers to share stories and communicate with other watchers! Please find us either by typing Shorewatch into the top search bar or follow this link: Shorewatch.
Follow @dolphinsighting to keep up to date with our latest sightings and tweet us your sighting so we can build up an exciting picture of whale and dolphin sightings around the coast of Scotland.
©WDC/ Katie Dunkley
Issue 10: Autumn 2012
Shorewatch News
t: 01343 820 339e: [email protected]/shorewatch
A world where every dolphin is safe and free
Watch out for whales and dolphins from your local shoreline
SMASS aims to collate, analyse and report data from marine animal strandings in Scotland. They try to determine the cause of death in suitable cases and undertake disease surveillance to identify emerging potential threats. The project was set up in 1992 and is funded by Defra and Marine Scotland. The data collected contributes to the collaborative UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP).
Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme
How you can help
Please report all dead stranded marine animals to SMASS. Provide as much information as possible including an accurate location, date, species ID and photographs - these provide lots of infomation which can be really helpful.
Please send all the details to [email protected] or phone/text 07979245893.
Post mortem examinations
Since 1992 7,000 reports of stranded animals, 3,330 cetaceans of which nearly 40% have been sent for post mortem examination (PM). Scotland’s two most commonly stranded species are the harbour porpoise and the grey seal, each accounting for about 20% of all strandings.
Post mortem examinations are carried out to determine the cause of death of stranded animals. Unveiling any emerging threats, both natural and anthropogenic, and tracking the patterns of known threats is important for the mitigation process and conservation of the species.
Samples are collected including; Tissue samples to test for any bacterial infections, toxins or change at the cellu-lar level, Skin for genetics, gonads for life history infor-mation, the teeth are used to age the animal and stomach contents allow us to see what their diet is made up of.
This information, together with information gathered from live animals can be used to inform policy makers when deciding on a range of issues concerning the species in question.
©SMASS/ Ursula Tscherter
©SMASS
By Barry McGovern Strandings coordinator SRUC
