Issue 20 Summer 2015 Shorewatch Shorewatch News · 2015-08-10 · somebody breaking the law you can...

Issue 18: Autumn 2014

ShorewatchShorewatch News

A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free

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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

Issue 20 Summer 2015

t: 01343 820 339e: [email protected]/shorewatch



Shorewatch NewsIssue 20 Summer 2015Big Watch Weekend

AberdeenShorewatchers Walter, Lorraine

A wopping 33 watches, 32 of which carried out by Walter Innes

21 sightings Species; BND

CullenShorewatchers

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 Burghead

ShorewatchersSteve, Elizabeth, Cath, Adele,

Carol, David and MattAn awesome 55 watches over two

sites, 26 carried out by Steve Truluck. 20 sightings

Species; BND,minke, humpback, porpoise. 36 non marine mammal

species

NairnShorewatchers

Ishy Walters, Lesley, Graham, Andrew and Matt

11 watches 5 sightings Species; BND

Plus 5 non marine mammals

Fort George

ShorewatchersSophie, Ron, Matt, Andrew

8 watches 6 sightingsSpecies BND

ChanonryShorewatchers

Gerry, Sophie, Tessa, Charlotte

12 watches 6 sightingsSpecies BND

Strathy Shorewatchers

Joan, Donald, Tony 11 watches 1 sighting,

Species; risso’s

Dunnet Head

ShorewatchersColin,Carol20 watches 0 sightings

Tiumpan Head

ShorewatchersJanet, Roger, Richard and Morag

44 watches, 25 by Janet,26 sightingsSpecies; minke, porpoise, risso’s,

humpback

RodelShorewatchers

Ann, Pippa , Marie and Gordon, Wendy

16 watches 4 sightingsSpecies; basking shark,

common and risso’s.Plus 19 non marine mammal

species recoreded.

Spey Bay

ShorewatchersSimon, Catherine , Caro

24 watches 6 sightings

Species; BND

North kessock

ShorewatchersLiz, Tessa, Charlotte

27 watches3 sightings

Species BND

Thank you for your effortTake a look at what we all saw ....

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!




Shorewatch NewsBig Watch WeekendThe winners are.......Graham Kidd | For the individual that carried out the mostwatches. 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 Shore-watchers 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 mentionAn 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


Big Watch Weekend 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.BurgheadCommon 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.RodelCuckoo, 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 gullsNairnOsprey, kittiwake, gannet.TiumpanSky larks, gannets.CullenEider, gannets, guillemot, cormorant, velvet scoter, terns, swallows, house martins, swift




Shorewatch News

Big Watch Weeekend The excitement caught on camera.....

Big Watch Weekend

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Issue 19 Spring 2015

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Shorewatch NewsShorewatch updatesShorewatch FAQGetting 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 side-ways 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.,





Shorewatch News Interesting Updates

Remember Approach safely

and slowlyDon’t get too closeDon’t stay too long

Be WISE to wildlife

Dolphin CodeBest Practise for Wildlife watchingRecently 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 pro-duce the Aberdeen Dolphin Code that clearly highlights the appro-priate 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 ar-rived?4.Did the cetacean approach the boat? If so it is not a disturbance. ©

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Aberdeen HarbourDolphin CodeThe 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.

> 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.

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.


Shorewatch News

Watch out for whales and dolphins from your local shoreline



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 captiv-ity 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 stun-ningly 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 Dun-net 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.

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.

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 Jan-uary 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.

Orca News Issue 20 Summer 2015

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Closer to home14th June | We received a call at the Scottish Dolphin Centre 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=ycng-zwHP20. 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 adop-tions 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 abun-dance of salmon for the endangered Southern Residents.




Shorewatch NewsShorewatch Science Issue 20 Summer 2015

Conservation in action

In 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.

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.

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!

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 ex-ample, low effort will allow for monitoring trends in spatial range over very large physical and tem-poral 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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Shorewatch News

Conservation in Action (Cont)This level of monitoring would be required to answer our research question about rapid changes due to anthropogenic distur-bance, 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 linkhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000396

Shorewatch Science Issue 20 Summer 2015

Hooray For Citizen ScienceA 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, inva-sive 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 volun-teering 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.

Citizen Science could

address impacts of global change on

biodiversity




Shorewatch NewsShorewatch Calandar Issue 20 Summer 2015

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 eventsshorewatch@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 en-counters he had with all types of wildlife.Where; Spey Bay Scottish Dolphin Centre, and available to listen onlineCost; 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 linkCost; Free

11th August 9:00: Talk from WDCs Philippa Brake: Philippa will bediscussing 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 linkCost; 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 BunkhouseCost; £26.00

6th September 13:00: Join the Shorewatch team aboard the Eco Ven-tures boat and appreciate the coastline from the water.... who knows we may see some dolphins.Meet at 12:30am at the Eco Venture shop, CromartyCost; £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 viewCost; Free

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 AugustClatcholl Sea Shore event 10/11th AugustBoats at Burghead 22nd AugustNorth Harris Mountain Festival 14th - 17th SeptemberWick SeaShore Event 21st - 25th September

Don’t forget Big Watch Weekend

11th|12th|13thSeptember

Keep an eye on facebook for updates




Shorewatch News

Cetacean adventures| Matt Scott

All of us are very passionate about cetaceans and collect-ing 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 glimps-ing 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 max-imise 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)

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.

Shorewatch site handbookThe 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!

Issue 20 Summer 2015Shorewatch Adventures




Shorewatch News

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 photosWork 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

Issue 20 Summer 2015Shorewatch Adventures




Shorewatch News

Unfortunately 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 fish-ing 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 at-tached 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 ac-cess 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.

Humpback whale stranding | Matt Scott

Issue 20 Summer 2015Shorewatch News

Issue 20 Summer 2015 Shorewatch Shorewatch News · 2015-08-10 · somebody breaking the law you can...

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