Hundreds of wildlife enthusiasts are expected to gather along UK coastlines over the next 10 days to count and record whales and dolphins.
The National Whale and Dolphin Watch, taking place from 26 July to 4 August, is hosted by the Sea Watch Foundation and aims to get volunteers to observe and record sightings of the UK’s most impressive marine mammals.
The UK is home to some of the most majestic marine wildlife such as bottlenose dolphins and fin whales. However, many of these species are vulnerable to threats such as water pollution and rising sea temperatures.
The data collected from experts and novices alike will contribute to scientific research that is monitoring trends, distributions and behaviours of the animals.
Peter Evans, the director of the Sea Watch Foundation, said: “We’re noticing that changes are taking place such as alterations in species distribution, conservation status of certain species and changes in the pressures that they’re facing. These are all almost certainly related to climate change and that’s why it’s extremely important to get as many people out there as possible to maximise coverage.”
At last year’s event, about 1,000 volunteers participated, with more than 1,400 sightings submitted to Sea Watch’s database over nine days. Memorable sightings included seven long-finned pilot whales off Aberdeen and two sightings of white-beaked dolphins off Shetland.
Evans hopes this year’s event will be bigger and better, with volunteers able to use the foundation’s SeaWatcher app as an aid.
“About 30 species of cetaceans have been recorded around Britain now,” said Evans. “That is almost a third of the species throughout the world, so on a global scale our little island is pretty important.”
