20 Summer
Issue 18:
Autumn 2015
2014
Shorewatch
Shorewatch
News
Hello Shorewatchers,
It has been a great year of sightings so far, lots of minkes and bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth even with
a few sightings of orca and humpbacks. Humpbacks, orca and risso’s have been spotted from the north coast
and common dolphins, porpoise and basking shark have been spotted from the west coast.
Despite some challenging weather we have seen a great commitment from Shorewatchers, many who have
braved the weather and collected a huge number of records for us. Thank you!
Happy watching! Katie, Matt and Andrew
Supported by:
A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Shorewatch News
Issue
20Autumn
Summer2014
2015
Issue 18:
Big Watch Weekend
Thank you for your effort
Take a look at what we all saw ....
Strathy
Shorewatchers
Joan, Donald, Tony
11 watches 1 sighting,
Species; risso’s
Tiumpan
Head
Shorewatchers
Janet, Roger, Richard and Morag
44 watches, 25 by Janet,26 sightings
Species; minke, porpoise, risso’s,
humpback
Rodel
Shorewatchers
Ann, Pippa , Marie and
Gordon, Wendy
16 watches 4 sightings
Species; basking shark,
common and risso’s.
Plus 19 non marine mammal
species recoreded.
Nairn
Chanonry
Shorewatchers
Gerry, Sophie, Tessa,
Charlotte
12 watches 6 sightings
Species BND
Shorewatchers
Ishy Walters, Lesley,
Graham, Andrew and Matt
11 watches 5 sightings
Species; BND
Plus 5 non marine
mammals
Fort
George
Shorewatchers
Sophie, Ron, Matt, Andrew
8 watches 6 sightings
Species BND
North
kessock
Shorewatchers
Liz, Tessa, Charlotte
27 watches
3 sightings
Species BND
Burghead
Dunnet
Head
Shorewatchers
Colin,Carol
20 watches
0 sightings
Cullen
Shorewatchers
Graham, Andrew, Matt, Dave
and Stacey
An impressive 37 watches,34 carried
out by Graham Kidd,
6 sightings
Species; BND ,minke whale
Plus 9 non
marine mammal species
Shorewatchers
Steve, Elizabeth, Cath, Adele,
Carol, David and Matt
Aberdeen
An awesome 55 watches over two
Shorewatchers
sites, 26 carried out by Steve Truluck.
20 sightings
Walter, Lorraine
Species; BND,minke, humpback,
A wopping 33 watches, 32 of
porpoise. 36 non marine mammal which carried out by Walter Innes
species
21 sightings
Species; BND
Spey
Bay
Shorewatchers
Simon, Catherine , Caro
24 watches
6 sightings
Species; BND
BWW June 2015 was a weekend full of whale and dolphin sightings and Shorewatch
volunteers coming together to share their love of their local area and the wildlife it supports.
We had a record number of 301 Shorewatches carried out over the weekend, with 108
positive cetacean sightings, 6 different species of cetacean recorded and an impressive total of
304 individual cetaceans spotted with 47 volunteers involved over the weekend!
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A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Big Watch Weekend
Shorewatch News
Issue 20 Summer 2015
Issue 18: Autumn 2014
Big Watch Weekend
The winners are.......
Graham Kidd | For the individual that carried out the most
watches. Graham carried out watches from Cullen on every day of
BWW. Personally Graham carried out 34 watches.
Burghead | Adele Sutherland, Steve Truluck, Cath Bain,
Elizabeth Harley, Aimee Burrows, Carol and David Shaw
For the site that carried out the most watches. Together the Shorewatchers at Burghead carried out 55 watches. A tremendous effort
was put in from all but particularly Steve Truluck and Cath Bain who
arrived on site early Saturday and Sunday and did not leave the site
until last light at 11.30pm. The team at Burghead also recorded the
winner number of different species of wildlife in-between watches,
recording 39 different species.
Too good not to mention
An amazing effort was put in by all, over this BWW. Sadly I cannot
give prizes to all, but I want to acknowledge individual outstanding
effort.
Walter Innes | Was on site every day of BWW. Arriving on site at
4am he carried out 32 watches from Torry Battery.
Rodel | Anne Milne, Pippa Steven, Marie and Gordon Newman
and Wendy Else | Were on site every day of BWW and carried out
16 watches and recorded a number of different species of wildlife
between watches.
Colin Graham | Despite not having the excitement of a number of
sightings, Colin understands the importance of the data he collects
from Dunnet Head and returns time and time again. Over BWW he
carried out 20 watches.
Tiumpan Head | Janet Marshal, Roger Rapley, Morag and Richard
Llewellyn | All did a great job and carried out 44 watches.
Liz Brooker | Single handily collected 27 watches over the weekend.
Ishy Walters | Despite not having an abundance of sightings Ishy
maintains a continuous effort throughout the year for her site at
Nairn.
David and Avril Haines | Share their enthusiasm for whales and
dolphins with everyone they meet on their site at Stoer.
Andrew Scullion and Matt Scott | Have been brilliant volunteers and
have provided endless amounts of help and enthusiasm
We had sightings galore.
Sightings were recorded from every region.
Despite some difficult weather; haar, wind
and rain some volunteers were staked out at
their watch site for over twelve hours a day.
Despite being house bound with a sore back
I could feel the excitement of everyone’s
sightings as my phone keep beeping with
messages, bottlenose dolphins everywhere
in the Moray Firth, minke and humpbacks
at Burghead, risso’s at Strathy, common
dolphins from Isle of Harris the list goes on.
But not only did we record many cetaceans
throughout the weekend, Shorewatchers
noted down other species of wildlife too.
Burghead
Common seal, rock pipit, shag, herring gull,
swallows, lesser black back gull, starlings,
house martin, swift, thrift, kidney vetch, buff
tailed bumble bee, gannet, ribwort plantain,
yarrow, white clover, pink clover, heron,
large white, kittiwake, springer spaniel, grey
seal, common tern, eider,
guillemot, fulmar, pie tailed wag tail,
common gull, oyster catcher, great skua,
hooded crow, song thrush.
Rodel
Cuckoo, fulmars, cormorants, oyster
catcher, heron, gannets, black guillemots,
basking shark, moss carder bee, grey seal,
grey lag geese, common gulls, ravens, great
skua, razor bills, white tailed eagle, black
headed gulls
Nairn
Osprey, kittiwake, gannet.
Tiumpan
Sky larks, gannets.
Cullen
Eider, gannets, guillemot, cormorant, velvet
scoter, terns, swallows, house martins, swift
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A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Big Watch Weekend
Shorewatch News
Issue2019Summer
Spring 2015
Issue
Issue 18: Autumn 2014
©Holly Peak
©Holly Peak
©Katiedyke
©WDC
©EnivronmentLINK
©DavidHaines
©Walter Innes
©Leigh Sedgley
©Walter Innes
©Walter Innes
Big Watch Weeekend
The excitement caught on camera.....
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A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Shorewatch updates
Shorewatch News
Issue 20 Summer 2015
Issue 18: Autumn 2014
Shorewatch FAQ
Getting confused with Shorewatch protocol?
These FAQ will help, find more Q&As on the Shorewatch website;
www.whales.org/shorewatch
1.Do I need a bearing and reticule count for a casual sighting?
Wherever possible, yes please! This would help us to mark the sighting on a map should the need arise.
2.If I watch a cetacean past effort time do I record my watch time as the entire length or 10 minutes?
Your watch time should always be 10 minutes long (9:05am – 9:15am) but your sighting time should encompass
the entire time that you watched the cetacean(s). This might be after the watch finishes (9:09 – 9:34) or it could
even be from before the watch started if you saw a dolphin as you were walking toward the site (8:55 – 9:34). You
should note the end time of the sighting when you can no longer see the cetacean or when you move away and
are no longer watching.
3.Does a sighting count as on effort if it occurs as the timer ends?
If the timer is actually pinging as you see the cetacean(s), you can sneak the sighting into the watch, yes, in your
naked eye section! If you see it after the time stops, record the casual sighting and enjoy watching.
4.What do I do if the seastate is different across my shorewatch site?
The seastate is likely to be similar across your whole site. Make sure that you are looking into the wind to take the
seastate as this will show you the front faces (and white caps) to their greatest degree. If the wind is going sideways across the site, it will appear to be windier on one side (into the wind) than the other (looking with the wind)
but actually you are just seeing different sides of the waves.
If your site has two distinct areas, take the one that is most likely to affect your watch. At Spey Bay, the bay itself
is often a bit more protected when the wind is coming off the land but then the seastate picks up 1.5-2km
offshore. We use the seastate in the bay itself as we have a low platform and are unlikely to make sightings more
than 1.5 km offshore unless they are very active dolphins.
5.What do I do if the seastate changes up or down a number during my shorewatch? Do I change my original
number?
If the seastate goes up to ‘out of bounds,’ you will need to cancel your Shorewatch. If it changes toward the end
of the watch, leave the number that you determined in the beginning as this is when all watchers are taking the
weather conditions. If it changes early in the watch and you feel that influences the entire watch, feel free to
change it. In both cases, make a note in the comments so that we know what you were seeing.
6.How many ID cues should I write on my data sheet?
Please write three ID cues, even if you are 100%. This is the process used by the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee (JNCC) who outline marine mammal observer (MMO) protocols.
Your ID cues may help us to confirm an identity and they will also give us an idea of what you (and other
Shorewatchers) are noticing in the field so that we can update our trainings and refreshers appropriately.
,
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A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Dolphin Code
Best Practise for Wildlife watching
Recently there has been a bit of bad press regarding wildlife
encounters. Last month the P&J published a very damaging article
about an orca encounter. As negative as the encounter was, I feel
that most boat users are respectful of wildlife and most want to
enjoy the experience in a way that is beneficial to the creature.
A number of resources have been produced to help advise boat
users how best to behave when around whales and dolphins. This
year Aberdeen Harbour, Police and WDC worked together to produce the Aberdeen Dolphin Code that clearly highlights the appropriate way to act around cetaceans. There is also a marine wildlife
watching code that can be found at http://www.marinecode.org/.
WDC have hard copied of the codes that can be provided in bulk to
anyone that wants some.
Whales and dolphins are European protected species and it is illegal
to recklessly or intentionally disturb or harass them. If you witness
somebody breaking the law you can report them by calling 101. If
you witness an incident note down the date, time, place, name of the
boat. Take photos, videos and a witness statement. It is important to
note down the behaviour of the boat and subsequent behaviour of
cetaceans. Beware it can appear like disturbance from the shore but
the boat may not be as close as you think.
To assess if it really is disturbance ask yourself the
following questions:
1.Did the boat change course, head directly to the creature and
get closer than 100 metres?
2.Did the cetacean try to leave and the boat followed?
3.Did the cetacean stop what it was doing before the boat arrived?
4.Did the cetacean approach the boat? If so it is not a
disturbance.
Aberdeen Harbour
Dolphin Code
The area around the harbour mouth at Aberdeen is a feeding
ground for bottlenose dolphins. These animals are protected
by national and international legislation and disturbing them
is a criminal offence.
The simplest way to reduce the risk of inadvertently breaking the law is
by keeping watch for the animals and following this advice, which has
been approved by Aberdeen Harbour Board, Scottish Natural Heritage,
Police Scotland and the East Grampian Coastal Partnership.
> When dolphins are nearby, maintain a steady
course and the slowest safe speed you can.
> When entering or leaving the harbour stay well
away from the breakwaters to avoid startling
or boxing-in animals behind them.
> If it is safe and practicable to do so, avoid
directly approaching the animals.
> Avoid turning engines on and off if dolphins
are present.
> Never allow anyone to swim with, touch or
feed dolphins.
Remember
Approach safely
and slowly
Don’t get too close
Don’t stay too long
Be WISE to
wildlife
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e: [email protected]
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A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
©WDC
Interesting Updates
Shorewatch News
Issue
20Autumn
Summer2014
2015
Issue 18:
Orca News
Shorewatch News
Issue
20Autumn
Summer2014
2015
Issue 18:
Watch out for whales and dolphins from your local shoreline
Closer to home
14th June | We received a call at the Scottish Dolphin Centre
This May WDC Shorewatch teamed up with Seawatch to
carry out shore based observations as part of Orca Week.
The event is run at this time of year to coincide with peak
sightings of orcas that visit the Caithness coastline and the
Northern Isles of Shetland and Orkney. On this trip north we
had a special guest with us; Rob Lott WDCs orca and captivity lead, who was keen to see orcas in British waters.
orca Week is an opportunity to engage with both the local
community and the visitors who make the trip to this stunningly beautiful part of the country.
During our week in the far North we were fortunate enough
to see orcas, humpback whales, minke whales and harbour
porpoise from our vantage point at Duncansby Head, just
two miles from John O ‘ Groats.
Other keen whale watchers stationed at strategic points
along the coast such as Noss Head, Strathy Point and Dunnet Head had similar encounters.
There was so much enthusiasm and excitement from locals
and visitors alike whenever there were whales passing and
not even the unpredictable Scottish weather could dampen
anyone’s spirit.
©AnneMarieDunnet
Why not read Robs account of the trip http://uk.whales.
org/blog/2015/05/orca-watch-in-scotland
28th May | Ontario, Canada has revised its Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act to prohibit the keeping and breeding of
orcas within the province. Sadly the Act doesn’t include Kiska
(F), Ontario’s only captive orca at Marineland Ontario. Unless
transferred to another facility, retired to a sea pen, or
considered for potential release back to the wild, Kiska is now
likely to see out the rest of her days alone at the park.
from an excited local resident to say four orca were heading our
way. The resident had seen them cross part of Cullen Bay and
tracked them as they passed Bow Fiddle Rock off Portknockie
and moved past Findochty. We watched out for them from the
Spey Bay Shorewatch site, but unfortunately didn’t see them.
However the crew of the Buckie lifeboat did and later posted this
video on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycngzwHP20. Photos of the orcas also appeared in The Aberdeen
Press & Journal: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/
moray/610604/whale-watchers-urged-not-feed-quarry/.
Orcas are typically seen in this region from April to July, but are
also recorded in other months too. They have most likely
travelled down from Iceland to feed on seals and indeed the
four orcas seen in the Moray firth were witnessed feeding on a
seal before heading off. When they return to Iceland they will
feed on Herring. This prey switching between fish and seals
is unlike other orca ecotypes who tend to feed on one specific
prey type, either fish, marine mammals or sharks and rays.
Other members of the Icelandic population stay in Iceland and
feed primarily on herring.
In other news, 27th May | The Friday Harbour Whale Museum
on San Juan Island has gifted two Southern Resident orca adoptions to President Obama’s daughters, Malia and Sasha. The two
orcas, J35 (1998) and J37 (2001), share the same year of birth
as each of the girls and were presented to the President at a
roundtable discussion in Washington DC. The gift was intended
to raise the plight of Southern Resident orcas, particularly their
salmon food source, and lobby the President to remove four
dams on the lower Snake River in Washington State. This is
believed to be the swiftest course of action to increase the abundance of salmon for the endangered Southern Residents.
Last year State Assemblyman Richard Bloom proposed a bill to
prohibit the use of orcas for performance or entertainment
purposes in California. In April 2014 an Assembly committee sent
the bill for ‘interim study’ but set no date for the findings. In January this year Assemblyman Bloom said he wouldn’t reintroduce
the bill while the issue of orcas in captivity was being studied.
The bill is unlikely to return untill next year at the earliest.
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A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Shorewatch Science
Shorewatch News
Issue
Summer2014
2015
Issue
18:20Autumn
Conservation in action
We were also able to show there is value in data at whatever level it is collected and that
different amounts of effort would be required to answer our different research questions. For example, low effort will allow for monitoring trends in spatial range over very large physical and temporal scales. With this level of effort we can begin to address our research questions by looking
at which species are found at which sites and monitoring changes in species range over the long
term with decades of data (for example, 40 years of shore-based surveys off California showed an
increase in the diversity of cetacean species sighting in line with warming sea
temperatures and an implied regime shift). Higher levels of effort, say 5 watches per day minimum
are recommended for relatively immediate inter-annual or inter-site trends in bottlenose dolphin
occurrence in the Moray Firth.
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A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
©CharliePhilips
We are proud to announce that working with Dr. Clare Embling from Plymouth University, we have
shown how valuable our data are with our first peer-reviewed publication: ‘How much effort is
enough? The power of citizen science to monitor trends in coastal cetacean species’ .
As part of Shorewatch we have set out research questions which can be used to inform
conservation management and seek to direct our data collection to answer these questions and it
is exciting to show that our data can be used to detect trends because, over the long term, this is
how we will determine changes - whether due to climate, human activities or other factors. But this
is only a first step, we must now continue to collect and analyse our data until we can show similar
results using data from wider sites and varied species!
©ElizabethHarley
As a Shorewatcher, you are a citizen scientist! You are taking an active role in tracking whale and
dolphin sightings from your local Shorewatch site. You already know that each Shorewatch you
record becomes part of the wider monitoring network, but did you know that because you are
appropriately trained and following a specific protocol, you are producing data of similar reliability
as using experts doing the same watches? That’s pretty impressive. As a group, we have
managed to do well over 30,000 watches from sites all around the Scottish coastline since 2010
(from Spey Bay since 2005)! You watch from land and therefore do not disturb or affect the
behaviour of the whales, dolphins and porpoises being observed. You have watched in the briefest
of weather windows throughout the years and from remote locations. It would be
impossible for teams of trained researchers to keep up this level of effort using more intensive
research methods such as boat-based or aerial surveys. You make it happen.
©CharliePhilips
n a world of growing concerns about human impacts on the environment, ‘citizen science’
has become a buzz term and deservedly so. As we seek to assess and monitor the impacts of
climate change, development, etc. on the species and habitats around us, traditional scientific
research can often prove prohibitively expensive if conducted at the scale required over long
periods of time. Citizen science supports local volunteering efforts to gather data which can be
used to answer questions at a regional, national or even global scale as well as over long time
frames.
©CharliePhilips
I
Shorewatch Science
Shorewatch News
Issue
20Autumn
Summer2014
2015
Issue 18:
Conservation in Action (Cont)
This level of monitoring would be required to answer our research question about rapid changes due to anthropogenic disturbance, such as displacement (dolphins moving out of the area) during the pile driving phase of wind farm construction but is
not our target at every site.
Finally the usefulness of any data for outreach purposes should not be overlooked as a means to enhance
engagement with the local marine environment. Conservation initiatives are often driven by the interest and will of local parties
to speak up for their local wildlife. As an example of conservation in action, WDC volunteer collected Shorewatch data were
used by SSE to determine the best plan and timeline for the placement of the Caithness to Moray subsea transmission cable.
Don’t give up it is an ongoing process – think decades!
We appreciate that this is just the beginning; many of our research questions will not be answerable until we have more years
of data for comparison but that does not make each Shorewatch which we conduct right now any less valuable in the long
term. It is impossible to know whether any given watch you do will tip the balance of effort collected from a site or capture a
sighting which might drive change but with increasing developments and other human activities in coastal habitats such as the
Moray Firth, concerns about the health of the marine environment continue to grow. So the need for citizen science is great.
We appreciate those watchers who conducted the first Shorewatches in 2005; I wonder how the Shorewatchers of 2050 will
feel about us?
To access the full report follow this link
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000396
Hooray For Citizen Science
Citizen
Science could
address impacts of
global change on
biodiversity
A report from the EU shows Citizen science holds the potential to address some of
the biggest concerns facing biodiversity researchers.
The study found that volunteers already save biodiversity research huge sums of money, but their contributions are under
used. The impact of global change on biodiversity is difficult to monitor because change is occurring at a global scale over
long periods of time. The resources needed to track and analyse in detail the effects of climate change, pollution, invasive species, land use change and overexploitation are vast. However, citizen science approaches may help scientists to
tackle the problem in a way that is not prohibitively expensive. The authors carried out the largest ever quantitative study
of biodiversity-focused citizen science projects. They set out to understand how citizen scientists already contribute to
biodiversity research and how they could contribute in future. The results suggest that between 1.36–2.28 million people
volunteer each year, giving up around three working days of their time. According to the authors, this equates to $0.7–2.5
billion (€0.6–2.2 billion) of in-kind contributions. The researchers conclude that citizen science provides a valuable, but
under used, resource for global change research, which holds potential for gathering data at a global scale via local volunteering efforts. In this way, scientists and non-scientists could work together to solve large-scale environmental problems.
However, the researchers say this potential will not be realised unless citizen science is better integrated into established
scientific research. One solution could be for citizen science networks, such as the Citizen Science Association, to help
match professional scientists with projects that could provide data for their research.
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A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Shorewatch Calandar
Shorewatch News
Issue
20Autumn
Summer2014
2015
Issue 18:
Summer is here (well almost) and the Shorewatch team have a number of activities planned to show you our
appreciation for all your hard work
Take a look at the following calendar and let us know if you want to sign up for any of the events
shorewatch@whales,org
01343820449501
4th August 19:30: Talk from adventurer Adam Walker: Adam will be talking
about his adventures while swimming 7 of the toughest sea swims and the encounters he had with all types of wildlife.
Where; Spey Bay Scottish Dolphin Centre, and available to listen online
Cost; Free to volunteers, £3 for non volunteers
Available from 5th August: Talk from WDC's policy expert Sarah Dolman:
Sarah will discuss WDCs involvement in the Marine Protected Areas process and
will be available online to answer all your questions.
Where; available to listen online, email to get access to the link
Cost; Free
11th August 9:00: Talk from WDCs Philippa Brake: Philippa will be
discussing Cetacean culture and its role in conservation. Philippa will be available
to answer all your questions.
Where; Webinar, log in online to view, email to get access to the link
Cost; Free
29th - 30th August Field Trip: Join the team on our trip to Stoer Lighthouse,
for the opportunity to explore another Shorewatch site and the wildlife and beauty
of the area.
Where; 8am Spey Bay (or at a pre-organised meeting point) transport will be
provided.
Accommodation; Achmelvich Bunkhouse
Cost; £26.00
6th September 13:00: Join the Shorewatch team aboard the Eco Ventures boat and appreciate the coastline from the water.... who knows we may see
some dolphins.
Meet at 12:30am at the Eco Venture shop, Cromarty
Cost; £27
7th September 19:30: Talk from Dr Claire Embling: Claire discusses the
analysis she carried on our Shorewatch data, work that was only achieved because
of you!
Where; Webinar - log in on-line to view
The Shorewatch team will also
be at a number of events over the
next few months,
informing folk that Scotland is
a great place to view Cetaceans
from the land! Come and say
hello or even better come help
out.
Fort George Celebration of the
centuries, 8th/9th August
Clatcholl Sea Shore event
10/11th August
Boats at Burghead 22nd August
North Harris Mountain Festival
14th - 17th September
Wick SeaShore Event 21st - 25th
September
Don’t forget
Big Watch Weekend
11th|12th|13th
September
Keep an eye on facebook
for updates
Cost; Free
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e: [email protected]
whales.org/shorewatch
A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Shorewatch Adventures
Shorewatch News
Issue18:
20Autumn
Summer2014
2015
Issue
Cetacean adventures| Matt Scott
A
ll of us are very passionate about cetaceans and collecting cetacean based data, that’s the reason we like to get out
and watch cetaceans and contribute towards the data that helps
protect them. This being said, there can be times when we might
lose our enthusiasm towards the Shorewatch efforts and maybe
not get out as much as we think we should. I have recently found
a great remedy for this in the form of a cetacean streak. I thought
I would share a little bit of volunteer life with you and tell you
about my experiences and excitement at the thought of glimpsing these majestic creatures.
I have been documenting all the cetaceans I have seen since
being up in Scotland (stay tuned for a piece on that towards the
end of the year) and recently I was in Aberdeen and noticed I had
seen bottlenose for 3 days in a row. The thought occurred to me
that I could very easily try and continue this streak for as long as
possible and it became a little bit of an obsession.
For the next 6 days I found myself getting out of the Scottish
Dolphin Centre as much as possible to look at the sea and maximise my chances of seeing dolphins for that day. I found myself
getting out the house before breakfast and having a quick scan
every morning and staying on the beach late into the evening if I
hadn’t caught a glimpse for the day. Every day I quietly thought
to myself that it wasn’t probable the streak would continue but
every day it did. The streak was at 9 days by this point and I was
well and truly excited about every dolphin I saw.
My next goal was to get to two weeks.
14 days of cetaceans, surely this could
be done, as long as I put in the time
on the sea. (continues over)
Shorewatch site handbook
The Shorewatch team will be launching a site
handbook soon. We will put a notification out
on Facebook and make a PDF copy available
as well as a hard copy. The Shorewatch
handbook will detail the locations of all the
sites, directions to them, lock box information
and codes, and watching out areas. Basically
you will be able to use it to visit any of our
Shorewatch sites around the coast and carry
out Shorewatches. Hopefully this will be a helpful guide that
encourages anyone
that wants to travel around to do so.
Scotland’s a beautiful
place and we have
some seriously amazing Shorewatch sites
around the coast. I can’t
encourage you to
explore enough!
We really do have some
amazing aquatic wildlife
right on our doorstep. The
cetaceans have made me
excited and frustrated and
excited but I wouldn’t change
that for anything.
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e: [email protected]
whales.org/shorewatch
A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Shorewatch Adventures
Shorewatch News
Issue
Summer2014
2015
Issue 18:20Autumn
Cetacean adventures| Matt Scott (Cont)
On the 10th day I had planned a trip to Stoer Lighthouse because it was the first
week of June and I had heard orca had been spotted in the Minch from Stoer in
the first week of June for the past three years; I couldn’t pass this opportunity
up! Now I’m an early riser anyway but when I was in the car and ready to leave
by 5am you could only put it down to me wanting to maximise my cetacean
watching time at Stoer because that’s a ridiculous time to be awake! I got there
at 8:30 and watched through the rain and wind, all the time the streak was in the
back of my mind. A harbour porpoise and my first one at that! The streak would
continue for another day.
Days 11 and 12 passed me by with some amazing cetacean sightings at Spey Bay. On the 12th day in particular I
didn’t think the streak would continue but after dinner and some serious time already logged on the water for that
day, I got my jacket on and headed out. In the back of my mind I knew I would keep making periodical trips out as
late as I needed but I desperately wanted to see the dolphins, this wasn’t convenient after a long day. My persistence
paid off and I saw possibly the best acrobatic display I have seen yet from a pod of about 7 dolphins while hunkered
down against the wind below the shingle line.
On day 13th day I went on a mad trip to Hopeman despite already seeing my BND friends for the day because I got
a rather excited voicemail from Steve exclaiming he had seen minke and humpback from his window. Unfortunately
I didn’t see anything even after putting my time on the scope, but still the excitement of the chase can’t be beaten by
much apart from maybe a sighting at the end of it. This streak had done its job and I was back and more enthusiastic
than ever about my cetacean pals.
As I write this now I am on day 14 and am very pleased to say I saw some BND just this evening to complete my
goal of a two week cetacean streak. It has spanned three Shorewatch sites and a living room, two seperate months,
71 individuals, and two species. We really do have some amazing aquatic wildlife right on our doorstep. The
cetaceans have made me excited and frustrated and excited but I wouldn’t change that for anything. All I can hope
for now is to make the most of this amazing place and continue this streak for at least another couple of days! Who
knows, maybe I’ll get a third species in there, maybe I’ll even make it to three weeks!
Call for Risso’s dolphin photos
Work is still underway to protect one of the more mysterious dolphin
species around the coast of Scotland. It is important to understand the
population dynamics of the Scottish risso’s population. The main way
we can achieve this is by identifying all the individuals in the population
by fin ID. Once we have a comprehensive catalogue of individuals we
will begin to better understand their movements, among other things,
and determine which individuals show site fidelity. This will give us
valuable information about how to protect these creatures and how best
to proceed with the upcoming marine protected area that is proposed
for north-east Lewis.. If you have risso’s photos please email
[email protected]
Proposed MPA for north-east Lewis
t: 01343 820 339
e: [email protected]
whales.org/shorewatch
A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free
Shorewatch News
Shorewatch News
Issue
20 Autumn
Summer2014
2015
Issue 18:
Humpback whale stranding | Matt Scott
U
nfortunately there are increasing incidents of
cetaceans getting tangled in both active and
‘ghost’ fishing nets. Locally, a humpback whale was
spotted on the 4th June tangled in a fishing net by
a fisherman near Helmsdale. After hopes the whale
would survive and failed attempts to free the whale
it was believed to have died on the 6th and its body
was recovered on the 7th. A spokesman from
British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said “It
was entangled in rope which could have made the
whale weak and unable to feed and drown”. The
Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS)
concluded after examination that the animal was in
good body condition and most likely died as a result
of drowning rather than emaciation or infection
caused by the wounds inflicted by the
entanglement.
This terminal entanglement comes after a paper
published last month estimating the strength of 22
whales. As well as noting that smaller cetaceans
were stronger relative to body size the paper also
highlights the implications of entangled cetaceans.
Often a whale does possess the maximal strength to
break a fishing line however it is very rare that the
conditions are correct in order for break free from
the entangled object.
Unfortunately cetaceans cannot simply pull the fishing line apart. The resistant force, the force created by
the cetacean in order to break the object, needs to be
greater than the breaking force of the entangled object.
This force can be generated if the entangled object is attached to a boat or the bottom of the ocean however this
is often not the case, and instead it is not attached to
anything other than the whale. In this case the resistance
force cannot be generated and the whale has to deal with
increased drag from the gear which can wear them out
or worse, can restrict their movement by getting tangled
in a fin, or something similar, and exhaust them which
causes them to drown. This study concluded that, after
measuring the strength of so many whales, large whales
may often be unable to break out of the extremely strong
fishing lines used today.
‘Estimating maximal force output of cetaceans using
axial locomotor muscle morphology’ is not an open access article so if you would like to read it in more detail
get in contact with the Shorewatch team and we can
send you a PDF.
t: 01343 820 339
e: [email protected]
whales.org/shorewatch
A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free