Lauren Clegg

Differences in Behaviour of Halichoerus grypus at Two Sites in Cornwall

Lauren Clegg

FdSc Marine Science, Cornwall College, Falmouth Marine School, Falmouth TR11 3QS

This study investigated the ethology of Halichoerus grypus at two similar tidal offshore haul outs,

with the main difference of exposure to disturbance. The study was to compare the behaviour of

Halichoerus grypus at each site, to conclude whether a higher exposure to disturbance will cause a

difference in behaviour. Land based surveys took place over a six week period, finally gathering 48

hours of observational data. More seals were recorded at Gwennap Head; therefore more varying

behaviours were recorded. Although the data did not deem sufficient enough statistically, the

Halichoerus grypus surveyed within the Fal, have not yet been recorded for behavioural interest.

Therefore this study is a baseline study to be continued by Falmouth Marine School students,

hopefully over many years to come. These studies can aid the spread of knowledge and continuous

protection of Grey seals around the Cornish coast.

Key words: ethology, Halichoerus grypus, haul out, disturbance, behaviour.

___________________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

Halichoerus grypus are the most abundant of

carnivorous marine mammal sighted in the

South West of England. (Leeney et al. 2010)

The UK coastline is home to approximately

45% of the total worldwide population (Ibid)

with a small percentage of the population of

Great Britain living in numerous colonies

around the Cornish coasts. (Summers, 1974)

An estimation of 0.5% of the worldwide

Halichoerus grypus population can be found

around the Coast of Cornwall and the Isles of

Scilly. Pup census are undertaken to estimate

the annual population increase around the

Cornish coastline. (CSG, 2010) Common seals,

Phoca vitulina are rare around the South West

of England, but have been known to visit the

Cornish Coasts. (CSG, 2009)

Grey seals in the South West UK usually haul

out on rocky outcrops or sandy beaches in

groups, usually lying fairly close together.

(SMRU, 2010) Haul outs are used by seals as

areas to rest, moult, digest their recent meal,

mate and give birth. (Lewis, 2006)

Grey seals, Halichoerus grypus are a highly protected species, (Strong et al. 2005) having once been listed as threatened due to over exploitation; however, fortunately the Grey seals are no longer threatened. (IUCN Redlist, 2010) Halichoerus grypus are protected under the Protection of Seals act 1970 and the European Union’s Habitats Directive (Council of the European Communities, 1992) however there are still many threats towards Grey seals in this region. (Leeney et al. 2010) Areas around the Cornish coast that are Sites

of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Special

Areas of Conservation (SACs) where Grey

seals are found are usually designated due to

the presence of Halichoerus grypus. (Kiely et

al., 2000) Where Halichoerus grypus are listed

as a feature within an Site of Special Scientific

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Interest, protection of the creatures is held

through the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Grey seals are also protected under Annex II

and Annex V of the EC Habitats Directive 1992

(NE, 2010) and Appendix III species under the

Bern convention (WiSe, 2008)

Human and seal interaction includes the

threat of net entanglement. Seals are

naturally very curious creatures and have

been seen to approach and play with drift

nets, which can cause them to become

entangled. (L.C. Personal observation)

Habitat loss, pollution (marine litter) and

culling by fishermen are additional threats to

Grey seals on the Cornish coast. (Leeney et al.

2010) Conflicts between the fishermen and

the seals due to decreasing fish stocks are

posing a continuous threat to the seals

around Cornwall and the rest of the UK. (Ibid)

Although Grey seals are protected, the

Conservation of Seals Act 1970 states that it is

still legal for a seal to be shot under license if

it is seen to be causing damage to fishing net

or tackle or taking of fish from within the net,

providing the seal is within the vicinity of net

at time of shooting. (Kiely et al., 2000)

The study of animal behaviour is known as

Ethology. Since the 1980s, practical ethology

has developed the ability to accommodate

what is known as the normal behaviour of a

species and be able to specify the abnormal

behaviours. (Gonyou, 1994) Abnormal

behavioural changes can be used to indicate

reduced welfare or stress of the animal, which

in turn indicates a factor of this abnormal

behaviour which can then be looked into and

potentially reduced. (Ibid)

Behaviour and sightings of seals at haul out

zones can be due to a variety of factors

including time of year, (Sayer, Pers comms.)

time of day, tidal cycles, weather and sea

state. (Leeney et al. 2010) Human disturbance

can also be a factor of behavioural changes of

Grey seals at haul out sites. (CSG, 2011)

This study documents the behavioural

comparison of Grey seals at two haul out sites

in Cornwall.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Study areas

Site one, Gwennap Head, lies on the most

south-westerly coastal tip of England in

Cornwall. Gwennap Head cliffs are exposed to

the deep sea south-westerly swell (Fleming,

1995) of the Atlantic Ocean. Gwennap Head is

one of the best seawatching sites in England

(Walker & Wilson, 2007) with a tidal haul out

zone used primarily by a local colony of Grey

Seals.

SeaWatch SW Annual Report 2009 states that

the numbers of Grey seal seen at the haul out

at Gwennap Head remain stable, with a

maximum of 20 Grey seals seen at one time

on more than one occasion using the haul out

site.

Human Activities occurring at Gwennap Head

that could disturb the seals include crab and

lobster potting, local fishing boats working in

the area, commercial tour boats, and

watersports including kayaking and

recreational yachting and people walking

along the cliff top. (L.C. Personal observation)

Any disturbance including human activity

plays a large part in the behavioural changes

of marine mammals, including the Grey seals.

Venables, 2008 states that the haul out at

Gwennap Head is a “regularly used low tide

haul-out, often disturbed by boats passing

between the haul out and the mainland. Once

disturbed the Grey seals Halichoerus grypus

often don't return that tide.”

The second site is located within the Fal

estuary. The Fal is the third natural deepest

harbour in the world, after Rio de Janeiro and

Sydney. The Carrick Roads is 4 miles up the

estuary from where Black Rock is located (PoT

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& FHC, 2001) within the middle of the

entrance of the Fal Estuary, on the South

coast of Cornwall. Black Rock is a dark cone

shaped beacon set on rocks, with two spheres

located on top of its conical structure. (L.C.

Personal Observation)

Black Rock is a haul out area for a much

smaller colony of Halichoerus grypus than at

Gwennap head; this haul out is visible at low

tides and submerged by water at high tide.

(Ibid)

Human Activities occurring around Black Rock,

Fal include watersports; scuba diving,

powerboating, kayaking, sailing etc.,

recreational and commercial fishing,

commercial tour boats (ORCA sea safaris) (L.C.

Personal observation)

Factors affecting Halichoerus grypus

behaviour

A variety of factors including time of year,

time of day, tidal cycles, weather and sea

state can cause a change in behaviour of

Halichoerus grypus. (Sayer, Pers comms, 2011;

Leeney et al. 2010) Human disturbance can

also be a factor of behavioural changes of

Grey seals at haul out sites. (CSG, 2011)

Human disturbance can occur from land and

also closer to the seals at sea, for example by

boat and watersports activities.

Disturbance can be minimised by land based

surveyors remaining quiet whilst surveying

and if a seal notices them, for them to stay

still and not pose any threat. (CSG, 2011) Boat

based surveying can be controlled with a

complete understanding of the marine

mammal code of conduct. (WiSe, 2010)

Data collection

Scientific research today, including

behavioural studies, tend to take place in

laboratories in a controlled environment.

However, to understand behaviour at its most

normal is in the natural environmental

surroundings, with most of behavioural

studies taking place in the wild. (Bramwell

Slater, 1999)

Through the method of practical ethology,

ethograms are used to record the variety of

behaviours that the seals may express

throughout survey times. An ethogram is

defined as a list of species behaviours and

actions that define them. (Smithsonian, 2010)

Over a six week period, from 11/03/11 to

27/04/11, observations for Grey seal

behaviour took place; twenty four

observations overall.

Black Rock haul out was observed from

Pendennis Point, Falmouth and the haul out

at Gwennap head was surveyed from the cliff

tops, beneath the coastguard station.

Twelve land based surveys took place at

Gwennap Head with nine land based surveys

at Pendennis Point; with three extra surveys

being boat based within the Fal.

At each survey, the tide times and height

(neap and spring), weather and sea state were

recorded; primarily to investigate whether the

sea state had any effect on the behaviour of

Halichoerus grypus. Tidal state was

determined using the Mylor Yacht Harbour

Tide Time Table 2011. The sea state was

recorded using the Beaufort scale as

guideline.

Observations were made during a two hour

period starting one hour before and

concluding one hour after the low tide time.

The time of day of each survey differ due to

varying ebbing tidal times.

The number of seals and their behaviours

were recorded using an ethogram,

throughout the two hour period, to enhance

the chance of seeing the seals behaviours

change, such as movement from sea to land

or vice versa, rather than surveying at set

intervals.

Lauren Clegg

Adler 10x42 binoculars were used for

observations, with all photographs of various

behaviours taken with a Canon 450D digital

SLR camera with 70-300mm zoom lens. Any

extra zoom or lighting adjustments required

was altered with Microsoft Office Picture

Manager.

RESULTS

Black Rock results were minimal, having only

observed four Halichoerus grypus over the

twelve, two hour surveys.

Black Rock haul out Grey seal visitors did not

act distressed by human disturbance; main

disturbance from boats, slowing down to look

at the seals. All seals at Black Rock were

surveyed as mostly lying with heads down, as

if sleeping, or scanning the area around them,

if disturbed, as if curious to what activity was

happening around them; perhaps ensuring

their safety.

One survey included sightings of a pod of up

to twenty Bottlenose dolphins, swimming

around Black Rock and into the bay; this did

not distract the one seal surveyed that day to

cause a change in behaviour.

Black Rock is situated in a much more

sheltered position than the haul out at

Gwennap Head.

Gwennap Head haul out provided a few more

sightings, with much more behavioural

activity within the water. From personal

observation, higher sea states resulted in no

sightings or sightings for a very short period of

time.

The concluded t value of 0.73 has caused a

rejection in the certainty of the two haul out

sites being comparable of Halichoerus grypus

behaviour.

Concluded factors affecting haul out

behaviour include disturbance; both human

and marine, sea state and tidal state.

DISCUSSION

This study is a vague baseline study for all

flourishing future studies on the behaviour of

Halichoerus grypus within the Fal estuary in

comparison with other haul out zones in

Cornwall.

The paired t-test was used to statistically

analyse any comparison of behaviours

between the two haul out zones, as the study

of behaviour has been measured with the

study occurring in a natural pair, due to study

of same species: Halichoerus grypus.

Due to minimal results gained from Black

Rock, a comparison between the behaviours

of the two haul outs could not be made.

However, the tidal effects, such as neap and

spring tides, had a slight effect on the

appearance of the Halichoerus grypus at the

Gwennap Head haul out.

The Halichoerus grypus did not show much

movement at Black Rock, most lying as if

sleeping or scanning when disturbed to see

what was happening around them.

Whilst studying wild animals, there is no

certainty that the animals will be where you

want them at the time you wish to survey

them. Primarily, the behaviour of wild

animals, such as Halichoerus grypus, may be

disturbed by the surveyor’s presence, which

may become eased over time. To prevent any

disturbance from the beginning, the land

based surveys are better, due to distance and

inability to get over to the haul out zones.

Also, land based surveying methods are low in

cost, it is easy to return to the same/similar

area of previous observation, however the

observer is restricted to the vicinity of which

you can only immediately see. (Evans &

Hammond, 2004) Marine mammals in general

are easier to locate on days of calm weather

and seas. (WDCS, 2010)

Boat based surveying methods can help with

Lauren Clegg

repeat observations; however, the observer

does not have any control as to where the

boat is travelling, which may not be the same

as previous observations. (Ibid)

The three boat based surveys that took place

in the Fal, allowed the observer to see if any

Halichoerus grypus were hauled out on the

side of Black Rock that is not visible from

Pendennis Point, due to the conical “nautical

marker” structure on the rocks.

Any boats causing any kind of disturbance

were noted to be far enough away as to

comply with the WiSe marine mammal code

of conduct.

“Peak ebb and flood tide times were defined as three hours after and before high water, respectively.” (Leeney, 2010) This would come in handy for future surveys. The two hour surveys collected some behavioural data, however, if observations were taken over a

longer period of time, those seals that were already hauled out can be seen at the point of when they hauled out, which could also define peak haul out times before the lowest tide of the day. More behaviours may also be recorded if watched over a longer period of time. The time of year of studying Halichoerus grypus certainly needs to be considered. Personal communication with Sue Sayer of Cornwall Seal Group, whom has been studying Halichoerus grypus for over ten years, commented that the time of year that this survey has taken place, would not provide sufficient data due to little sightings. However, continuous data collection for varying times during the year can decipher the time of year that Halichoerus grypus use the haul out within the Fal most. The total time of this survey was 48hours, for future observations, this number need to be increased considerably to gain the results required to be able to reject a null hypothesis. Further previous data could potentially be obtained from the Cornwall Seal Group for Halichoerus grypus haul out site at Gwennap head as this area has been studied previously and current data can be compared to previous data collections. Personal input into the idea of purchasing a web cam to be placed on Black Rock will ease the surveying for those continuing the study of Halichoerus grypus in the Fal. I cannot stress enough how much personal communication with Sue Sayer of Cornwall Seal Group will help in every way with this

project. This study did not obtain enough personal communication with Sue Sayer and has therefore suffered because of this.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to acknowledge the

acquaintance and funding from Falmouth

Marine School and Falmouth Harbour

Commissioners.

Sue Sayer, Cornwall Seal group has been a

huge aid with Halichoerus grypus expertise

through personal communication and

knowledge found on the Cornwall seal group

website for input of different seal behaviours

and building of personal ethograms for this

survey; behaviours were continuously added

to the ethograms over the surveying period.

Thank you to Luke Blakemore for all of his

support and motivation throughout the

survey.

REFERENCES

Altmann, J. 1974. Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behaviour, Vol 49, pg 227-267. Bonner, W.N. 1972. The Grey Seal and Common Seal in European Waters. Vol 10. pg461–507. Bonner, W.N. 1989. The Natural History of Seals. Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd. ISBN: 0-7470-0203-7. pg 196.

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Bowen, W.D. et al. 2002. Sustained exponential population growth of grey seals at Sable Island, Nova Scotia. ICES/CIEM International Publishing. Available through: http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/content/60/6/1265.full [04.12.10]

Bramwell Slater, P.J. 1999. Essentials of

Animal Behaviour. Cambridge University

Press, 1999. ISBN: 978-0521629966. Available

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W0IC&lpg=PA1&ots=sfVnXz8okN&dq=animal

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CSG (Cornwall Seal Group) 2009. Grey Seals in Cornwall. [online] Available at: http://www.suesseals.eclipse.co.uk/Seal%20Flier%20landscape%20V10%202009.pdf [07.12.10] Evans, P.G.H & Hammond, P.S. 2004.

Monitoring Cetaceans in European Waters.

Mammal Rev, 2004. Vol 34, (1) pg 131-156

Fedak, M.A. et al. 1996. MAMVIS: A Marine Mammal Behaviour Visualization System. Volume 7, Issue 3. pg 141-147

Guillemin, J. 1980. Anthropological Realities:

Readings in the science of culture. Transaction

Publishers, 1980. ISBN: 978-0878557837.

Available through:

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_2RGoC&lpg=PA444&ots=LD_F_9sEjg&lr&pg=

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Haug, T, M Hammill, D Olafsdottir 2007. The grey seals in the North Atlantic and the Baltic., The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, Tromsø. NAMMCO Scientific Publications Vol. 6. Available through: http://www.marinemammalscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=476&Itemid=309 [05.12.10]

Higham, J.E.S. & Luck, M. 2008. Marine

Wildlife & Tourism Management: Insights

from the Natural and Social Sciences. CABI

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6MC&lpg=PA182&ots=O1JFouXMaG&dq=grey

%20seal%20code%20of%20conduct&lr&pg=P

A182#v=onepage&q&f=false [01.12.10]

IUCN, 2010. Red List of Threatened Species.

[online] Available at:

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ls/9660/0 [05.12.10]

IUCN: The World Conservation Union, 1995.

Seals. Cambridge: IUCN Publications. ISBN 2-

8317-0049-3

Kiely, O. et al. (2000). Grey Seals: Status and Monitoring in the Irish and Celtic Seas. Maritime Ireland / Wales. Report No. 3. ISSN: 1393-9025. Pg 77 Leeney, R.H. et al. 2010. Abundance,

distribution and haul-out behaviour of grey

seals (Halichoerus grypus) in Cornwall and the

Isles of Scilly, UK. Vol 90(5). Pg 1033-1040

Lewis, K.M. 2006. Habitat Use, Haul-Out Behaviour & Site Fidelity of Grey Seals (Halichoerus grypus) along the Ceredigion Marine Heritage Coast, Wales. Pg 1-30 Lockley, R. M. 1966. A ‘Survival’ Book: Grey Seal, Common Seal: An account of the life histories of British seals. White Lion Publishers Ltd. pg 175. McConnell, B.J. et al. 1999. Movements and foraging areas of grey seals in the North Sea. Vol 36. Issue 4. Pg 573-590. Available through: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2664.1999.00429.x/full [05.12.10] Moore, P.G. (2003). Seals and fisheries in the

Clyde Sea area: traditional knowledge informs

science. Fisheries Research, Vol 63. Pg 51-61

Natural England. 2009. Formal consultation starts on proposed European marine sites: EC Habitats Directive 1992. [online] Available at:

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http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/about_us/news/2009/271109.aspx [04.12.10] Port of Truro Authorities, 2001. The Fal Estuary. [online] Available at: http://www.portoftruro.co.uk/pdf/leaflets/falest.pdf 2001 [05.12.10] Prime, J.H. 1985. The Current Status of the Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus in Cornwall, England. Vol 33. pg 81-87

Riedman, M. 1990. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses. University of California Press, 1990. ISBN: 978-0520064973. Available through: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=McNEUgU8Q58C&lpg=PR9&ots=hn4tDRuYhR&dq=pinnipeds&lr&pg=PP2#v=onepage&q&f=false [04.12.10] SCOS, 2007. Scientific Advice on Matters Related to the Management of Seal Populations. pg 1-93. Available through: http://www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk/documents/SCOS_2007_FINAL_ADVICE_1.pdf [04.12.10] Smithsonian Institution, 2010. Vocabulary list. [online] Available at: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Education/ClassroomScience/vocabularylist.cfm [06.12.10] SMRU: Sea Mammal Research Unit. 2010. Seal Diet. [online] Available at: http://www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk/documents/SealDiet.pdf [05.12.10]

Steven G.A. 1932. A short investigation into the habits, abundance and species of seals on the North Cornwall Coast. Report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 30 December 1932. Available through: http://sabella.mba.ac.uk/823/01/A_short_investigation_into_the_habits,_abundance,_and_species_of_seals_on_the_North_Cornwall_coast.pdf [05.12.10] Summers, C.F. 1974. The Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Vol 6, No 4. pg 285-291 Thompson, P. & Rothery, D.P. 1986. Age and sex differences in the timing of moult in the common seal, Phoca vitdina.[05.12.10] Walker, D. and Wilson, A. 2007. Whales and

Dolphins of Great Britain: Where to go and

What to see. Loughborough: Cetacea

Publishing.

Wynn, R.B. et al. 2009 SeaWatch SW Annual Report 2009. pg 2-5

Lauren Clegg

APPENDICES

STATISTICS

Paired t-test

©Brilliant stats, Curriculum Press 2003

H0: there will be no difference in the behaviour between two haul out sites- CANNOT BE REJECTED

H1: there will be a difference in the behaviour between two haul out sites - REJECT

ETHOGRAM USED DURING SURVEY

BT Bottling Sleeping upright in the sea. Head will rise and sink at the surface.

LG Logging Sleeping in the sea horizontally.

SP Splashing Sudden diving action if disturbed.

IO Interaction with other seals Grooming, playing etc. with other seals.

FD Feeding Can be seen eating fish, crabs etc. usually at the surface of the water.

HL Hauling from sea to land A seal will haul from the water onto haul out zone.

EW Entering water from land A seal will enter the sea from the haul out zone.

LY Lying Sleeping motionless on land on their backs or sides.

GR Grooming Scratching themselves with their paws.

FN Fanning Stretching back flippers into a fan.

TK Tracking Surfacing behind a boat following it.

SK Snorkelling Blowing bubbles whilst swimming at the surface.

BN Banana-ing Seal tail and head held high, in a U or banana shape.

Behaviours Black Rock Gwennap Head

BT 0 2 -2

IO 2 0 2

HL 1 3 -2 s = ∑x2 - mean2

LY 8 3 5 √ n

GR 0 1 -1

SK 0 3 -3 ∑x2 145

BN 2 0 2 mean = -0.9

DV 0 6 -6

PR 0 7 -7 s = 145 - 0.81

SC 5 2 3 √ 10

s = 3.7

ttest = - 0.9 √ (10-1) = 0.729

3.7

Degrees of freedom = 10 - 1 = 9

Critical value = 1.833

t value is lower than the critical value so

null hypothesis can not be rejected

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DV Diving Diving underwater suddenly.

PR Periscoping Head held high whilst in water, looking around.

SC Scanning Looking around whilst hauled out on land

MAPS/GRAPHS

0

2

4

6

8

10

Black Rock Gwennap Head

Haul Out Sites

Total Number of Halichoerus grypus Observed

Number of Halichoerusgrypus observed

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

BT LG SP IO FD HL EW LY GR FN TK SK BN DV PR SC

Nu

mb

er

of

tim

es

acti

on

s ta

e p

lace

Behaviour

Behaviours of Halichoerus grypus observed at two haul out zones

Black Rock

Gwennap Head

Lauren Clegg

GWENNAP HEAD

4%

46%

14%

16%

3%

9%

3% 5%

Behaviours observed at Gwennap Head

SC LY SK BT DV PR HL GR

Gwennap Head haul out site

View point, Cliff tops of Gwennap

Head

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BLACK ROCK, FAL ESTUARY

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

09

/03

/20

11

11

/03

/20

11

13

/03

/20

11

15

/03

/20

11

17

/03

/20

11

19

/03

/20

11

21

/03

/20

11

23

/03

/20

11

25

/03

/20

11

27

/03

/20

11

29

/03

/20

11

31

/03

/20

11

02

/04

/20

11

04

/04

/20

11

06

/04

/20

11

08

/04

/20

11

10

/04

/20

11

12

/04

/20

11

14

/04

/20

11

16

/04

/20

11

18

/04

/20

11

20

/04

/20

11

22

/04

/20

11

24

/04

/20

11

26

/04

/20

11

Gwennap Head: Tidal height variation vs. Seal observations

tidal height /m

Number of Grey seals

View point, Pendennis Point,

Falmouth

Black Rock, Haul out site

Lauren Clegg

78%

4%

16%

0% 2%

Behaviours observed at Black Rock

LY SC IO HL BN

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

11

/03

/20

11

13

/03

/20

11

15

/03

/20

11

17

/03

/20

11

19

/03

/20

11

21

/03

/20

11

23

/03

/20

11

25

/03

/20

11

27

/03

/20

11

29

/03

/20

11

31

/03

/20

11

02

/04

/20

11

04

/04

/20

11

06

/04

/20

11

08

/04

/20

11

10

/04

/20

11

12

/04

/20

11

14

/04

/20

11

16

/04

/20

11

18

/04

/20

11

Black Rock: Tidal height variation vs. seal observations

Tidal height

Number of seals

Lauren Clegg

MARINE MAMMAL CODE OF CONDUCT

Marine mammal watching has become a huge tourism industry; in turn needing to create a code of

conduct, for the correct manner of behaviour whilst watching these creatures and with the tourism

increasing as does the knowledge and conservation of these wonderful marine mammals. (Garrod &

Fennel, 2004) All wild marine mammals are vulnerable to disturbance of any kind if not approached

correctly. There must be complete understanding of the code for it to work. (WiSe, 2010)

Code of Conduct as put forward by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust:

Keep your distance

Never drive a boat head on into a group of animals as to separate them

Please spend no longer than 15 minutes near these animals

Avoid groups with mother and young

Never be a cause of marine litter or marine contaminants – take your rubbish home

Never swim with a marine mammal, for both your safety and theirs

Maintain a steady direction, preventing any wake

Never attempt to feed a wild marine mammal