A myriad of whales and dolphins in our waters

A humpback whale captured for the Sea Watch Foundation by photographr P. Anderwald.

Twelve species of whales and dolphins have been reported in and around British waters so far this summer, according to marine research charity Sea Watch.

Nine of the species – killer (orca), minke and humpback whales; Risso’s, Atlantic white sided, white beaked, common, bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises – were reported during the National Whale and Dolphin Watch held last month.

Three other species – a sei whale off Northumberland in June (an unusual visitor to our coastal waters), a northern bottlenose whale in Dumfries & Galloway last June and fin whales off the Hebrides and Ireland in July – have also been positively identified.

Sea Watch director Dr Peter Evans said:  “The fact that the UK’s coastal waters can support so many different species is often overlooked.  Large whales such as humpback and sei whale tend to be seen on their way northwards from winter breeding grounds off the coast of NW Africa to feeding grounds around Iceland and in the Barents Sea.

“We have two resident coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins centred around Cardigan Bay, West Wales, and the Moray Firth off the east coast of Scotland, but every year during summer months, other dolphins arrive to feed.

“The UK’s role in keeping the migration highways safe for these great whales and in supporting the summer influx of dolphins through co-ordinated and appropriate conservation policies is vital. Research that helps us better understand the life styles of the species that we see, their distribution pattterns, and their feeding and breeding behaviours help to formulate these policies.”

He added: “This year’s sightings generally reinforce patterns established in the previous few years – i.e. low numbers of harbour porpoises in Shetland, more killer whales there than ten years ago; reasonable numbers of minkes off the west coast of Scotland; common dolphins and Risso’s dolphins entering the North Sea, and porpoises more common off East Anglia than in the early1990s.”

The National Whale and Dolphin Watch has been held annually for eight years, sponsored by BG, with members of the public and trained co-ordinators from across the country sending in sightings. The data collected over the years, comprising of sightings of many thousands of individuals of a dozen different species, has been helping inform scientific enquiry which in turn is helping to shape national, European and international conservation policies.

Sightings from the Watch are still being recorded, and can be seen on www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk//

Hebrides today is not liable for news content sourced from external sites