Summer 2020 €4.00 UK£3.45 ISSN 2565-6473 Issue No 3

Shannon dolphins Extreme noise at sea Distinguished contributors Some stories of note A threat to sea mammals The volunteer awards FROM THE EDITOR

issuE 3 Flukes is the membership magazine of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. The organisation promotes better understanding of Irish cetaceans and their habitats through education and Social media lifeline research. irish Whale and Dolphin Group elcome to the Spring The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group is a company limited by guarantee and 2020 issue of Flukes. registered in Dublin. While our human Charity No: CHY 11163 population struggles to Charity Regulatory Authority No: 220029913 cope with the current Our ‘Flukey Fridays’ Registered office: Merchants Quay, pandemic, life in our oceans goes on. ❝ Kilrush, Co Clare, V15 E762 The Irish whale and dolphin season is initiative aims to become Tel: (065) 905 1763 Email: [email protected] kWicking off. Although we have many Website: www.iwdg.ie species occurring year-round in Ireland, a weekly wildlife highlight some such as minke and humpback Officers for the people of Ireland Dr Simon Berrow whales are migratory, arriving in April to Chief Executive Officer feed in our rich inshore waters, when they Trea Heapes Group Coordinator become more visible along our coasts. & Communications Officer In this issue of Flukes we feature the Pádraig Whooley bottlenose dolphin population in the Sightings Officer A series of activities and events got Mick O’Connell Shannon estuary, which the IWDG has underway in recent weeks to engage with Strandings Officer been studying for 27 years now, since Seán O’Callaghan IWDG members and the public, of all Science Officer & Magazine Editor 1993. While they are considered a ages, during the current Covid-19 Dave Wall “resident” population, we still have Conservation Officer restrictions; these include ‘Flukey much to learn about their movements. Sibéal Regan Fridays’ with our Education and Outreach Education & Outreach Officer Photo-identification is a most powerful Officer Sibéal Regan, which is sure to Cathy Gibson tool, enabling us to track individual Northern Ireland Officer become a weekly wildlife highlight in Pádraic de Bhaldraithe animals and tell their stories. Ireland. Irish Language Officer The IWDG has been telling other stories Frances Bermingham We have also been increasing our social in recent months. The Whale Tales Membership Officer media outreach through some engaging Susanne Matejka gathering and AGM that we held in Dublin Book-keeper and educational posts. These have last November replaced our standard Mags Daly increased our profile and led to more Shannon Dolphin Project AGM, with a series of talks from officers, members. So, the IWDG continues to Karen van Dorp partners, members and guest speaker Welfare Officer grow. Stephanie Levesque Dr Conor Ryan. Over one hundred Celtic Mist Officer people attended and it brought the Tony Whelan seán O’Callaghan, Editor whole group together very nicely. Film-maker Directors Brendan Quinn (Chair) Conal O’Flanagan (Secretary) Core sponsors of the Irish Dr Nóirín Burke Whale and Dolphin Group: Fiacc O’Brolchain Frances Bermingham Eamonn Clarke Flukes is published by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) twice a Editor year. The material published in Seán O’Callaghan Flukes by the editorial team and Tel: 085 776 4918 (working hours only) contributors, and the views expressed Email: [email protected] therein, must not be taken as official IWDG policy unless specifically stated. Design and layout Copy deadline for the Winter 2020 Cóilín MacLochlainn issue of Flukes is Friday, September 25 th , 2020. Email: [email protected] ON THE COVER Bottlenose dolphins in the Shannon Printing: GPS Colour Graphics Ltd, estuary Alexander Road, Belfast BT6 9HP Advertising PHOTO: KATHERINA REuSCH [email protected] Panel photographs, from left: PARTiCiPATiON AND RiSK Readers of Flukes are reminded that Contributors Bottlenose dolphin ‘Sarafina’ with her whalewatching (or watching any calf ‘No 860’ in the Shannon estuary cetacean species), at sea or from Simon Berrow, Mags Daly, Trea Heapes, Cathy Gibson, Hannah PHOTO: ISABEL BAKER land, is an activity with a danger of Keogh, Stephanie Levesque, Fiacc O’Brolchain, Seán O’Callaghan, personal injury or death. Participants Mick O’Connell, Conal O’Flanagan, Mick O’Meara, Louise Overy, Air guns being deployed in seismic should be aware of and accept these survey in Irish offshore waters Sibeál Regan, Dave Wall, Pádraig Whooley PHOTO: DAVE WALL risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement. David Williams, award-winning volunteer 2 Flukes surveyor for IWDG (see story, p22) Summer 2020 PHOTO: jOANNE O’BRIEN NEWS Whale Tales Dublin Trea Heapes looks back on the iWDG Annual Meeting

By Trea Heapes, Communications Officer

Whale Tales is the IWDG’s annual gathering, where we share our stories and put faces to the names of those involved. IWDG members and any others with an interest in whales, dolphins and porpoises are welcome to join us in appreciating and admiring these charismatic animals at this annual event. Whale Tales 2019, held last November in Dublin, kicked off on the Friday evening with an informal get- together and catch-up of old friends. A series of video clips, presented by Tony Whelan, showcased research currently being undertaken by the IWDG. Saturday boasted an attendance of Kate O’Brien with John, Dixie and Mary Collins more than one hundred people and was filled with scientific talks, personal Pádraig Whooley and Mick 2019 through Distinguished stories and invaluable feedback from O’Connell, our Sightings and Contributor Awards. James members. Local group representatives Strandings Officers respectively, Hedderman received the ‘Best Use from Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Clare and summarised their specific recording of IWDG Data’ award. The ‘Cetacean Kerry spoke about their experiences schemes and highlighted emerging Sighting Scheme’ award went to and encounters with cetaceans during trends, such as peak sighting times David Williams, with the ‘Cetacean 2019. The enthusiasm of these groups and significant strandings. Stranding Scheme’ award going to was an inspiration to all present. You could have heard a pin drop as Kevin Delahunty. Finally, Neil The IWDG Education & Outreach Dr Conor Ryan shared his stories and Barnaby was the well-deserved Officer, sibéal Regan, reiterated her photos of travelling to the remotest call for more people to get involved of places while studying whales and recipient of the ‘Work Done on Celtic with the IWDG, offering hands-on dolphins and researching potentially Mist’ award (see also page 22). training and support to groups sustainable fishing methodologies. A fantastic event full of exciting interested in running regular local The IWDG recognised the stories of encounters with Ireland’s watches. outstanding work of members for fabulous giants

Appointments By simon Berrow, CEO

We welcome Karen van Dorp to the role

m of Welfare Officer with the IWDG. Karen a h has recently moved to Ireland from the g n i Netherlands, where she worked on large m r

e whales at the university of Leiden. Her first B

s task is to draft a Large Whale Stranding e c Protocol (see page 19). n a r Also returning to Ireland is Stephanie F

: s Levesque, who is our Celtic Mist Officer h p and helped run the Shannon Dolphin a r g Project in Kilrush; she returns as Celtic Mist o t

o Officer once again. Two great women to h Conor Ryan (third from left) and family at Whale Tales Dublin P further the work of the IWDG

Summer 2020 Flukes 3 I observed a small group mid-Irish Sea SIGHTINGS from the Ulysses ferry. It’s possible that this species is under-recorded in the Irish Sea in winter. ■ Remarkably, almost 50% of all bottlenose dolphin sightings were from counties Down, Antrim and Derry, although I should point out that we don’t include known residents or resident populations, such as those in the Shannon estuary. But it was nice to see the return of the individual known as Nimmo to the Galway Docks area on February 1 st . ■ The biggest aggregation of minke Humpback whale HBiRL 78, off Hook Head, Co Wexford, on January 8 th 2017 whales was in a feeding area off Black Ball Head, Beara, Co Cork, on October 27 th and comprised about eleven individuals. One week later, an IWDG Donegal charter out of Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, produced a Sightings review really nice tally of six minkes. Sightings Officer Pádraig Whooley analyses the sightings ■ Humpbacks were largely unrecorded results for October 2019 to March 2020 over the winter, but blows off Galley Head on March 31 st and Crow Head, Beara, the following day, were likely the first signs ver the six-month period Table 1. Breakdown of cetacean st that the humpback season was imminent. 1 of October 2019 to records in autumn/winter 2019/20 st Our biggest humpback news story, 31 of March 2020 IWDG species % of sightings however, was generated over 4,200 km received and validated away, when, on March 10 th , researchers 348 sightings, which included one Harbour porpoise 42 photographed a whale off Boa Vista, rOecord of a rare hooded seal. This is Common dolphin 14 Cabo Verde, which the North Atlantic a lower number of records than we’d Humpback Whale Catalogue confirmed typically expect during winter. For Bottlenose dolphin 13 was our HBiRL 78. This individual was instance, for the same period in Minke whale 8 recorded by IWDG over two seasons 2018/19 we received reports of along the Wexford and West Cork coasts 458 sightings. So, what’s underpinning Fin whale 6 during 2017 (see photo). This was an this 24% decline in records? One word: Humpback whale 4 important second match to the Cabo “WEATHER!” In fact three words: Verde breeding ground. “Bloody awful weather.” Risso’s dolphin 1 In over twenty years of living on the non-species category 12 south coast, I can’t recall a winter as Covid-19 pandemic The Covid-19 flu pandemic is unlikely to bad, with the worst of the elements This simple table, when compared have impacted on sightings during this coming together to produce an with the previous six-month period period, but the isolation measures and Atlantic conveyor belt of storms, (see Flukes No 2), tells an interesting travel restrictions that kicked in during starting with Atiyah, followed by what story, as we can see a marked late March will certainly impact on our seemed like a weekly roster of difference in the rankings of our three summer 2020 sightings, as the vast storms... Brendan, Ciara, Dennis, Ellen baleen whales, the smallest of which, majority of us don’t have access to a and others. nd th the minke, drops from 2 to 4 place, suitable vantage point within 5 km of our But even with fewer opportunities with our most charismatic whale, the homes. Tempting though it may be, with to observe cetaceans, the recording rd th humpback, dropping from 3 to 6 our whale season just about to kick off, ) e scheme is capable of providing us with l place. Only our largest inshore whale,

a we’d ask IWDG members to adhere to all h a useful sample of inshore activity. the fin whale, ranks higher, with a rise w travel restrictions and social distancing th th k We’d need an enormous budget and a from 7 to 5 place. This reflects the c guidelines as we move into this critical a staff the size of a small government b trend in recent years of both minke and phase of the fight against this global p department if we were to record and m humpback whales arriving earlier each flu pandemic. u

H validate every single cetacean that year, with only the fin whale clinging to (

We will continue to make the very latest

m occurred in Irish waters. This is not our what used to be our historic late l sightings available on www.iwdg.ie, but we o c objective, as it’s a qualitative and not a l autumn peak for large whales. would ask that you DO NOT travel beyond a

M quantitative exercise. As long as the

the new limit of 5 km announced on May w Sightings Scheme achieves good st e Species roundup 1 . Hopefully, there will be whales a’plenty r d geographic coverage and maintains a ■ The biggest cluster of harbour n to be enjoyed after we are Covid-free. A

: high standard in terms of the level of porpoise sightings was along the Stay safe and well h p proof being provided, then even during Wicklow and Dublin coast. a r ■ THANK YOu We extend a big thank you to all g extended periods of unsettled weather Common dolphins were most widely o our members and supporters for reporting their t • o it can be a powerful tool for detecting distributed between counties Kerry and sightings to us. Keep them coming, if you can h nd P what’s out there, where and when. Waterford, although on December 2 access the coast within your 5 km limit.

4 Flukes Summer 2020 while yet before results from the STRANDINGS NPWS/Marine institute Necropsy Scheme, carried out by the IWDG with GMIT and Cork Regional Vet Labs, are published, and there is no doubt that there are various natural and anthropogenic reasons for dolphins dying, but the big question that needs to be asked is: ‘Why such an increase in ten years?’ Several of the carcasses that washed ashore Stranded common dolphin carcass showed obvious physical signs of having been caught in fishing nets (with ropes on tails, broken jaws, fins cut off, etc) . As all cetaceans are protected Strandings review species, there is a moral and legal Strandings Officer Mick O’Connell reviews the strandings obligation at an Eu level to records in Ireland between January 1 st and March 31 st 2020 investigate what effects human interactions are having on them t’s now been ten years since beaked whale species (1), minke whale (particularly on common dolphins numbers of recorded cetacean (1), Risso’s dolphin (1) and sperm whale between january and March) and, strandings (especially of common (1). if found necessary, what mitigation dolphins) started to increase Recording strandings involves lots of measures would be feasible. dramatically in Ireland, especially during figures and percentages, which are fine The word ‘strandings’ continues to jianuary, February and March. Each year, for giving a factual overview, but, from cause some confusion, as people as December draws to a close and a new a welfare and conservation point of think this only refers to live cetacean year begins, I start to wonder if the new view, they may not give a good strandings (and we can’t think of a year will be different and will strandings representation of the actual situation more suitable word!), but live drop to pre-2011 levels. For these three for the species we are talking about. To strandings only account for around months, 2018 had the highest recorded give a better idea of the reality (I hope), 10% of all stranding records annually. total, with 105 cetacean strandings I have included two maps, both covering In the first three months of 2020, we (more than in all of 2010, as a matter of the months of january, February and had nine reported live strandings, interest), closely followed by 2017 (92) March, with each red dot representing a but what was unusual was that six of and 2016 (89). However, the first quarter stranded common dolphin. The first these were in west Kerry. of 2020 now has the highest numbers of map is from 2007 (I chose this year as it It is interesting to note that three strandings ever recorded in Ireland, with had the highest numbers of stranded dead Cuvier’s beaked whales have 25 received in january, 45 in February common dolphins for the decade 2001- been recorded in Ireland so far this and 39 in March, giving a grand total 2010). The second map is from 2020. year. This becomes more remarkable of 109. As we have repeated (ad nauseum... when you consider that four It is no surprise at this stage that 53% sorry, but I’ll stop when the numbers individuals of this species were of all the species washed ashore were reduce significantly), recorded recorded stranding in the southwest common dolphins (58). Other strandings may be less than ten percent in December 2019, and that 12 pilot strandings were of harbour porpoises of animals dying at sea, which would whales (another deep-diving species) (12), pilot whales (12), common or give Ireland the dubious honour of have stranded since january 1 st this striped dolphins (8), striped dolphins having numbers of dead common year. (4), bottlenose dolphins (3), Cuvier’s dolphins similar to the annual carnage Strange times we live in, in too beaked whales (3), unidentified on the west coast of France. It will be a many ways!

Common dolphin strandings Common dolphin strandings January 1 st to March 31 st 2007 January 1 st to March 31 st 2020 G D W I

: s p a m d n a h p a r g o t o h P

Summer 2020 Flukes 5 N CELTIC MIST iamh Annette

Oiling...

lazarette has been cleaned and tidied, and there is a new hatch on the way with hydraulic struts to Celtic Mist in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin stop it removing fingers. All of the 2020 programme, The central heating flue Floating Classroom and cruises has been renewed and the to Scotland and the north and heating is now almost west coasts are put back a year. Celtic Mist works instant, as the water heater is out of this system. There Fiacc O’Brolchain and Mick O’Meara report are repairs being carried on the refit to our research yacht Celtic Mist out on the mattresses and new doors being put in for the skipper and crew cabins back aft. All the fire extinguishers have been serviced, all n the flares renewed, usa and there is a full set Galley ‘slavSe’... of lifejackets, complete with spray Mick hoods, on the way. The main man... The result of all of this is that we could be ready to put to sea Electrician... in a week, if the opportunity arises. It may be that we will get he winter refit was bar. Along with the july and August at sea. If so, this up to speed and on ever-present will be on the east and south schedule when our chipping and coasts. Watch this space! best-laid plans went painting, there is awry. As of now, our 2020 now a new four- sTeason has been cancelled burner cooker with and we wait to see what the oven and grill. The Lia At present there are no future may offer. Many thanks old water heater m trips organised on Celtic to all of the team for their is gone, and a new Mist this summer. This will continued hard work and calorifier installed. This be reviewed in July. Please patience; they are what keeps means hot water whenever The outboard has a new watch out for updates on the Celtic Mist project going. the engine has been prop, and the rib is repaired ezine to members. The work to date on Celtic running a while, or when and good to go. Mist has once again raised the plugged into shore The plan to lift the vessel power. in Howth has been put back

d The bilge pump l to spring 2021. It a r plumbing is tidier would not be e g z and more efficient: possible, as we t

i Sanding... F

no more pumping depend on s u bilge-water from volunteer labour to m a ul e bilge to bilge. The do the necessary Pa S

: grey-water tank is work. s h p largely out to grass, We plan to stay a r

g and there is a new, where we are in Grand Hatch work... o t automatic galley sink Canal Dock, which is o h Linda

P pump system. The safe and stress-free.

6 Flukes Summer 2020 POLICY A time for change? By simon Berrow, CEO

With each general election we have the opportunity to change things; put a new party in power, a new leader, new priorities or an endorsement of previous policies. Our recent election has been seen as a demand for “change.” So what are the Irish people demanding to change, and what would the IWDG like to see on the political agenda? Although already a legal government obligation under the Marine strategy Framework Directive, greater progress on the identification and management of Marine Conservation Zones is a high priority. Recent consultation on implementation suggests our government is barely doing the minimum required, rather than embracing the opportunity to really achieve healthy and vibrant seas – pretty important for an island with over 90% of its territory under water. The IWDG considers that a tiered approach to Marine Conservation Zones, with different management strategies from complete restrictions to time-area closures, or restrictions on activities shown to be detrimental to cetaceans and their habitats, is more effective and practicable. These management strategies have to be developed with real stakeholder involvement or else they will not work. Wildlife management is constrained by our chronically under-resourced National Parks and Wildlife Service. Its budget should be increased immediately and each year thereafter. Funding should be ring-fenced to deliver key actions, including research, education and recording, and management actions. Funding to increase staffing levels (e.g., to administer these extra activities located if possible outside Dublin to bring more jobs to rural areas) is important. Despite new emerging pressures such as increased ocean noise and threats from persistent pollutants, the greatest immediate impact on cetaceans is commercial fishing. As a minimum, we must protect important prey species that whales, dolphins and porpoises depend on. Forage fish should not be fished, as these are more valuable to Ireland if left in the sea, where they support a range of species such as whales, dolphins, seals and seabirds as well as commercial fish species, and where they support marine tourism and angling, rather than being removed as low value fish-food. Whales and dolphins live in an acoustic world which is being degraded by anthropogenic sound (see pages 10-11) . The IWDG supports noise reduction measures, including sound mitigation and quieter ships. We support policies to stop seismic surveying for oil and gas in Irish waters. Leave these reserves in the ground and do not extract to burn. Tackling foreign navies operating in Irish waters is difficult, but the IWDG requires our government to work with the EU and other nations to ban the use of mid- and low-frequency active sonar within Irish waters. These types of sonar can result in mortality of deep-diving species in our offshore waters. No meaningful mitigation is possible, as our shelf slopes and abyssal waters are used by a wide range of cetaceans all year round

FIND OuT MORE See https://iwdg.ie/a-programme-for- g•overnment-to-protect-our-whales-dolphins-and- porpoise-and-their-habitats or go to bit.ly/iWDGprogramme . Photo: Inis staff enjoying a day of Summer 2020 whale watching off West Cork EDUCATION & OUTREACH

■ News roundup from Education & Outreach Officer Sibéal Regan

Galway live stranding course have the confidence and knowledge to respond to a live stranding event near them, a live stranding course was held in the Galway Atlantaquaria, Salthill, in February, attended mainly by members of the Galway local group and Galway County Council. It was a fantastic event; on a cold and windy day, a realistic setting for members to get a sense of what is involved in responding to a live stranding. It is important that members are aware of current best practice regarding a live stranded cetacean and have the practical skills to stabilise the animal and to understand how to respond in the most appropriate way when, or if, they come face-to-face with a beached whale

FIND OuT MORE Anybody wishing to start a local group •or arrange a live stranding course please contact IWDG local groups have been on the rise in recent years, [email protected]. particularly with the establishment of the Sligo and Mayo local groups and the rejuvenation of our Galway local group, which was driven by an influx of new members. To facilitate this growth, and to ensure that our members

people together while staying apart, by sharing your whale tales and promoting ocean literacy every Friday on iWDG Facebook Live at 11.00am.

Flukey Art competition As part of the IWDG education and outreach programme, we have also launched a Flukey Art competition. This is aimed at children aged 13 years or younger. If you or your children

) would like to send us your marine wildlife-themed art, please n a g Sibéal Regan with model of humpback fluke email a picture or a scanned copy to [email protected] e R

with your name, age and location. The winner of the Flukey l a

é Art competition will be announced in june b i S (

w Flukey Fridays o r r e Considering the spread of COVID-19 and the threat it B

n poses to public health, we decided to cancel Floating o m

i Classroom 2020, our main education and outreach event S

, of the year. This was unfortunate. However, we still ) e s strongly believe in ocean literacy and raising awareness r u o about whales and dolphins in Irish waters. So, to keep c

g promoting ocean literacy and to keep people of all ages n i d entertained and engaged, we decided to take this n a r opportunity to try something new and positive. t s Flukey Friday is our new outreach programme, e v i l

( sponsored by inis. Flukey Friday uses Facebook Live as n

a an interactive, online virtual classroom and is designed to g e keep everyone engaged and entertained with fun facts R l

a and other developments during isolation. é b i Flukey Friday is being very well received. Engaging with S

:

s both children and adults alike, our second Flukey Friday h p session received over 2,000 views as well as several a r

g questions through our [email protected] email address o t and in the comments section during the live session. o h

P Although this is a difficult time, we believe we can bring

8 Flukes Summer 2020 RESEARCH

■ Science Officer Seán O’Callaghan reviews two recent Irish cetacean research papers Our lost leviathan North Atlantic right whale Ireland’s inshore waters have become the 14 th century, perhaps reflecting their primitive hand-held lances in small, open increasingly associated with the presence already diminished numbers, as from then boats along European coasts. The most of rorqual whales – namely minke, on whalers hunted them more at higher deadly weapon in their arsenal was greed. humpback and fin whales. But there is latitudes around the British Isles. There have been anecdotal accounts of another group of baleen whales, the Fast-forward some centuries and the right whale sightings off Cape Clear Island “right” whales, and one member of this pressures on right whales increased when in 1964 and 1970, and possible sightings off family is effectively gone from Irish waters. two whaling operations targeted them in Donegal in 2001. However, no sighting in The North Atlantic right whale Eubalena Donegal Bay from 1737 to 1772. A lance- the past 30 years has been validated by glacialis was once likely to have been a firing “swivel gun” was developed to IWDG and, with no stranding records, it common sight along our coastal waters... increase the odds of catching them. seems the Eastern Atlantic stock is but what happened to it? Their fate was probably sealed before functionally extinct, with just a remnant Records of Basque whalers hunting the Norwegian whaling commenced on the population of around 400 clinging to life in “Nordcapers,” as they were once known, Inishkea Islands, Co Mayo, in 1908 and in the Western Atlantic. If there is to be any date back to the 11 th century in the Bay of nearby Blacksod Bay in 1910, when 18 were hope of a recovery, all the changes need Biscay, and this fishery continued through killed on their northbound migration. The to come from us, and this means tackling the Middle Ages. Their ecology and last eight were killed in 1910 and, despite big issues such as fishing gear entangle- biology did them few favours. Right the continuation of these operations for ment, ship strikes and changing prey whales hugged the coastline, were slow another nine seasons, the catch records distributions swimmers, floated when killed and say it all: the right whale was no more. produced a high yield of blubber and The real damage to the stock was done FIND OuT MORE O’Callaghan, SA (2019) baleen – factors that marked them out as long before whaling came to Donegal or •North Atlantic Right Whales Eubalaena glacialis in Irish waters, 1300-1987. Biology and a preferred target. There are records of Mayo. The demise of the species was Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish them being targeted in Irish waters from sealed centuries earlier by men using Academy, 119, 111-112. DOI: 10.3318/BIOE.2019.10

Cetaceans on a European scale ) s n i Maps are extremely useful tools to display h p l a large amount of data in a form that o d many people can visualise and, most ( n

a importantly, interpret. This, crucially, h g includes our policy-makers and politicians a l l

a who make decisions on our marine world

C Common dolphins ’ and the species that live there. O n

á Cetaceans adhere to no maritime insights into how our European species FIND OuT MORE Waggitt, JJ, Evans, e S

borders, so the bigger the picture you can PG, Andrade, J, Banks, AN, Boisseau, , use our waters. For example, greater • )

e O, Bolton, M, Bradbury, G, Bereton, T, l give of their distributions over time and densities of fin whales were recorded in a

h Camphuysen, CJ, Burinck, J, Felce, T, season, the more powerful the outcomes. offshore waters along the continental shelf w

Fijn, RC, Garcia-Baron, i, Garthe, S, t A study by Waggitt et al (2019) including h in july than in january; and similarly, the Geelhoed, SCV, Gilles, A, Goodall, M, g i IWDG data has provided sweeping insights r warmer water favouring striped dolphins Haelters, J, Hamilton, S, Hartny-Mills, ( s into cetaceans across the North Atlantic, pushed more of them northwards to our L, Hodgins, N, James, K, Jessopp, M, m l i from Norway in the north to Portugal in Kavanagh, AS, Leopold, M, Lohrengel,

F Porcupine Seabight in july, too. But very

e the south, between 1980-2018, in winter K, Louzao, M, Markones, N, Martinez-

n familiar species such as the common i Cedeira, J, Ó Cadhla, O, Perry, SL, L and summer, using 2.68 million km of dolphin, which is present all year round in e Pierce, GJ, Ridoux, V, Robinson, KP, h t survey data! Twelve species were Ireland, also increase in density during the Santos, MB, Saavedra, C, Skov, H, g n recorded, ranging from fin whales to summer months. A similar trend was found Steinen, EWM, Sveegaard, S, i s s harbour porpoises. Models were used to for Risso’s dolphins. Thompson, P, Vanermen, N, Wall, D, o r Webb, A, Wilson, J, Wanless, S and

C predict where these species were most With this level of detail over a huge area

: s likely to occur, based on water depth, Hiddink, JG (2019) Distribution maps of h of oceans and seas, our politicians have

p cetacean and seabird populations in the a temperature ranges and time. been provided with a great resource to r North-east Atlantic. Journal of Applied g o A key result from the study was a series guide protection measures to meet Ecology 57(2): 253-269 . t o of predicted densities for species in legislative commitments to protect these h P january and july, which has provided species in our ever-changing oceans Summer 2020 Flukes 9 CONSERVATION

Air guns being towed behind vesssel Noisy oceans

■ Conservation Officer Dave Wall reports on the potential conservation impact of oil and gas surveys on cetaceans in Irish waters Whales, dolphins and had no time to evolve a to achieve ‘good industrial installations (e.g., porpoises live largely in an response to this noise environmental status’ for oil rigs and wind turbines), acoustic world. They use pollution. Instead, they adapt our marine waters by 2020. military sonar (for detecting sound to communicate, with behavioural change, One of the targets of this submarines) and seismic navigate and forage. They such as making louder calls directive is to ensure that survey air guns. have evolved over millions of or avoiding areas of high noise pollution in the marine Seismic surveys are the years in an ocean without noise pollution (which may environment is at levels that primary survey method used manmade sounds. Only since be preferred foraging, do not have an adverse by the oil and gas industry for the 1900s has human noise resting or migratory areas). effect on marine species or locating deposits beneath the pollution made any These changes place habitats. ocean floor. Typically, a significant impact on the additional physiological The main sources of seismic survey uses an air gun ocean, beginning with the stresses on the animals, with manmade noise include ship array to generate low- first steamships and possible impacts on their noise, ship and boat sonar frequency sound waves that increasing with each health, reproduction and (e.g., depth sounders and pass into the seabed and generation as our levels of survival rates. fish finders), construction underlying rock. These ‘shots’ industrial activity grew. The EU Marine Strategy noise (e.g., blasting and generally occur every 10–12 Whales and dolphins have Framework Directive aims piling), dredging, in-water seconds during a survey line. The noise generated is extremely loud, with source levels reaching 260 decibels. This is far louder than the noise generated by the largest ships and as loud as some major catastrophic events such as undersea earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Major catastrophic events are extremely rare and are generally short in l l

a duration, while seismic W surveys are widespread and e v a may last for many weeks or D

:

s months. h p Research in Ireland and a r g abroad has indicated that o t

o seismic noise can cause h Air guns streaming out of the stern P baleen whales to leave areas

10 Flukes Summer 2020 Photographs: Patrick Lyne (oil rigs), Dave Wall (survey vessel) m s e s w k i fi e I i a m c i e b s b i h e m o a t e S o s s a b r n n m s h e l i u u i a u x x x v n r n r n a f f e a e i g

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i r e o s 1 h s i fi d a n s s g e e m e c h Bottlenose dolphins 006 SHANNON DOLPHINS (‘Sarafina’) and 242 in the Shannon estuary in June 2014

The early years Dr Simon Berrow reflects on the origins and achievements to date of the Shannon Dolphin Project

e normally pick in 1995, Simon ingram at uCC started dolphins up around a PhD on the dolphins. In the year here,” said Joe 2000, the Shannon estuary was Aston, skipper of the designated a Special Area of fishing vessel White Conservation for bottlenose dolphins Bank, steaming out of Carrigaholt in under Eu law, in recognition of its County Clare to haul nets west of Loop international importance. H“ead.W “And they leave us around here,” Research on the dolphins has shown he added 15 minutes later, as seven that the population consists of 145 bottlenose dolphins left our bow and individuals and has been stable over headed out into the Shannon estuary. the past 20 years. The dolphins occur

) That was back in 1991 when, during throughout the estuary, from Limerick t a

o six days at sea, we discussed the city to Loop Head, but also travel b

n bottlenose dolphin’s presence in the further afield, to Brandon Bay and o

e estuary and its uniqueness. This was Tralee Bay in north Kerry. e g the start of the Shannon Dolphin The population is genetically a M

Project, one of the longest-running discrete from other populations of í Simon surveying from the back of the RiB h t

i dolphin photo-ID projects in Europe. bottlenose dolphins in Ireland. á

D Through the West Clare Develop- ( funds to carry out vital fieldwork. We

w ment Co-operative, of which joe was also knew that if the presence of o Dolphin watching r r chair and Paddy Farrell was manager, Two purpose-built dolphin-watching

e dolphins in the estuary were of B we secured funding from Shannon economic value, it would enhance our vessels were launched in 2000 from n o Development to carry out a feasibility ability to protect them and their habitat. m i

S study exploring the potential for

, And it would provide people with the ) s commercial dolphin-watching in the opportunity to see dolphins in the wild, o t o estuary. If these dolphins were resident perhaps for the first time. h p and the encounter rate high, then And that’s how the Shannon Dolphin B I nd R there was great potential to develop Project started. On May 2 , 1993, we (

s a tourism product.

e headed out into the estuary with high m l The IWDG was most interested in spirits... but saw no dolphins! The o

H such an enterprise as it could deliver following day, we tried again and this n a i time found three groups and captured r B

, Simon boarding the project’s first RiB at images of four individuals, suitable for ) s n Carrigaholt pier photo-identification (including No 1: see i h p

l also page 16). o d Over the course of that summer we ( r

e made 27 trips, encountered 20 groups k a of dolphins and photographed 25 unique B l

e individuals. Five of these individuals were b a also photographed in the estuary last s I

: s year (2019) – 26 years later! h p a r g o Status confirmed t Dáithí Magee watching a dolphin bow-riding o Shannon Development supported an h from the Fiona David in the early days P extension of the project into 1994 and, 12 Flukes Summer 2020 Photograph: Isabel Baker g p m F S i s S a a C t a p e p e e w M c t m f w S S R t n h o h h u a u x x n c

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Sandy Salmon stranded in Co Kerry in 2012. She survived

Sandy Salmon Sandy Salmon is the only bottlenose dolphin from the Shannon estuary known to have live-stranded. A female, she stranded on 1 june 2012 on Béal Beach, Co Kerry, while nine months pregnant. She was dubbed Sandy Salmon because, while stranded, she vomited salmon on the sandy beach. Sandy Salmon was successfully refloated by the IWDG and went on to have a calf, Muddy Mackerel (No 817), later that summer. They still are regularly seen together in the Shannon estuary, though Sandy Salmon has since gone on to have another calf, No 862, born in 2016. Patch Patch (No 838) was born with scoliosis, a deformation of the spine. He is easy to identify from afar by the shape of his back and, when seen swimming, the fact that he always surfaces head-first out of the water. Patch was first recorded in the Shannon in 2015 and was last seen in 2018. He was most often seen with his mother, Cabbage (No 118). A number of bottlenose dolphins have been recorded with scoliosis in Ireland. See the paper by Berrow and O’Brien (2006) in the Irish Naturalists’ Journal , Vol 28 (No 5), available to members from the IWDG website, iwdg.ie, in Members Resources ) h c t AuTHOR Mags Daly is the a P

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Baily Lighthouse on Howth Head with the Sugar Loaf visible in the distance

A VIEW FROM SHORE Howth Head IWDG Director Conal O’Flanagan on his local watch site in County Dublin

long-term residents and It is amazing how many harbour porpoise, but large those passing through. They people will say they have seen whale species have turned up descend on the harbour area, large whales abroad, but have as well. Recently, a fin whale then move onto the cliffs in never realised that there are was spotted struggling in their droves. Some power- mini-whales on their doorstep. shallow water just off the ) y walk along the cliff, happy to Meanwhile, the regular Howth south-facing cliffs, and sadly, a

D overload on selfies, while cliff walkers just say to me, but unsurprisingly, it died a h c others take more time to get “we saw three, at the t few days later. Further back, a a a feel for the place. And some lighthouse, half an hour ago.” W group of kayakers spotted a e l even spot a small fin breaking “Thanks, lads.”

a humpback whale between h the surface of the water at And in some ways that is

W Howth Harbour and Ireland’s (

the bottom of the cliff. They what is great about Howth; it n Eye. Best of all was during our a wonder, was it a seal, a serves as a gateway to the g

a Whale Watch ireland event in n dolphin, or maybe just their world of cetaceans and other a l August 2006: as about 60 F

’ imagination? marine wildlife for lots of

O people were happily watching

l Sometimes, on days that I Dubliners. In the summer, the a porpoises, a minke whale n am there, armed with my cliffs are alive with breeding o

C cruised by at close range and

, ‘scope and binoculars, their seabirds, but while porpoises )

n was seen by all.

a curiosity overcomes their are unspectacular, for those g I know Howth Head might a shyness and they ask for my that see them for the first n a not be able to match the l opinion. So the chatting time, they are fascinating. F ’ sightings list of the hotspots O starts, about harbour They have an enigmatic, l a of the south-west, but it really

n porpoises being year-round almost mysterious quality, o has a lot to offer, and rarely C residents, about the Special appearing briefly, twice or ( disappoints. I really should try

m Area of Conservation from three times in quick a h Conal O’Flanagan Rockabill to Dalkey Island, succession, then disappearing and get out there more often, g n i about the IWDG and our into the depths, to reappear and, who knows, we may m r owth (Hoved; a website, and if they see any later somewhere in the bump into one another e B head) was named by more maybe they’ll report vicinity. somewhere between the Nose s e c the Vikings before them. Howth is the place for and the Baily n a r being plundered by F

,

) them, was an unwelcoming d a H host to Granuaile, and is now e H

home to thousands of h t seabirds, dozens of very rich w o people and a small population H ( of red squirrels. On the north w o r side of Dublin Bay, it juts out r e

B into the Irish Sea and affords n

o views of the Mourne m i Mountains to the north, S

: s Snowdonia to the east, and h p south to the Wicklow a r g Mountains and coastline. So, o t

o it is no wonder that it’s a h

P magnet for Dubliners, both Whale Watch ireland Day, Howth Head, August 2017 Summer 2020 Flukes 21 AWARDS Distinguished Contributors Awards 2019 By simon Berrow, CEO programme, even though he has no opportunity to reap the rewards by hese new annual awards sailing with us during the summer. seek to acknowledge He is a unique volunteer in that he those who have made a is most annoyed when there are no significant contribution tasks ready for him to work on! He to the work of the IWDG. arrives over from Holyhead early in TEach recipient was selected the morning and is regularly on the independently by the Sightings boat and ready to work at 8.00am. and Strandings Officers and the He only breaks for a quick lunch CEO, as well as by the Celtic Mist and only stops when he needs to Committee. rush back to the ferry. On The Sightings Award went to occasions, he has slept on the boat. David Williams, whose first James Hedderman was selected cetacean sighting report to the David Williams: Sightings Award 2019 for the Use of iWDG Data Award. IWDG dates back sixteen years, to The IWDG gets a number of March 2003. Since then, David has requests every year to access reported in excess of 800 sighting sightings and strandings data. records from around the Northern These data are typically for under- Irish coast, almost all of which were graduate and postgraduate studies “effort-related.” at third level institutes within Kevin Delahunty was nominated Ireland and the uK. james is a for the Strandings Award. Over the mature student at the National years, Kevin has been very willing to College of Ireland, Dublin, where he attend local strandings, sometimes is studying for a Higher Diploma in at rather short notice! Living in the Science in Data Analytics. james Dublin area, strandings locally are required a dataset to explore using generally few and far between and the R programming language to are most often of harbour create visualisations showing the Kevin Delahunty: Strandings Award 2019 porpoises. It takes an extra distribution of species, geo- ‘something’ to maintain an interest mapping and seasonal patterns. in cetacean strandings where they Developing scripts to analyse big are relatively infrequent, and for datasets is critical. His novel that, Kevin’s contributon was approach and data request, for the acknowledged. first time from the National College ) y b The Celtic Mist Award goes to of Ireland, together with the a n r Neil Barnaby. Neil is relentless in his prompt delivery of his thesis report, a B

commitment to volunteering on the gave him the advantage over other l i e Celtic Mist winter maintenance users of IWDG data N ( w o r r e B n o m i S

Neil Barnaby: Celtic Mist Award 2019 Paddy O’Dwyer Catherine O’Sullivan Conor Ryan David Williams Derek McLoughlin , ) s m a i l l i W d i v Enda McKeogh Niall Keogh Fergal Glynn Jackie Hunt Joanne O’Brien a D ( n e i r B ’ O

e John Power Larry Manning Lilian Lieber Marieke Volkenandt Randal Counihan n n a o J

: s h p a r Róisín Pinfield Suzanne Beck Teresa Martin Eamonn O’Sullivan Clodagh Collins g o t

o The IWDG owes much to its volunteers over the years, including these members of the 2012 h James Hedderman: Use of iWDG Data Award 2019

P Cetaceans on the Frontier team, who happen to include 2019 award winner David Williams.

22 Flukes Summer 2020 Bottlenose dolphin breaching off Rathlin, Co Antrim, September 2014 A DAY IN THE LIFE...

Species profile

A LIVE STRANDING Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus RESPONDER An deilf bholgshrónach

) toughest aspects of live strandings is

n By Louise Overy, i By Pádraig Whooley, sightings Officer h to remember, first and foremost: are

p iWDG fieldworker l

o you helping the animal or are you d t is a cold, stormy night in he bottlenose is Ireland’s most widely e doing it for yourself, because you s February and we are just o don’t want it to die? Unfortunately, distributed dolphin and can appear in any n returning from the cinema when e l inshore waters. Most sightings, however, t sometimes the animal may well have t we get a text: “I think there is a o come in to die, so your attempts to are along our west coast and, in recent b

( dolphin stuck in Cloghane creek.”

l years, the northeast and north coasts have enjoyed l save it may only be making things e iOn go the wellies and coats, and the T n more stressful. Recognising the an increase in sightings of this charismatic species. n torches, towels and stretcher are o differences between individual For many Irish people, this is the species that D brought out. But at the end of the c stranding events is key, such as the springs to mind when we think of dolphins, due in M day it’s the extra pairs of hands you no small part to Ireland’s pre-eminence when it m circumstances surrounding the o find that make the difference. On this

T comes to solitary dolphins, a market that has been

stranding or the physical appearance , ) particular occasion, a common cornered by bottlenoses such as Fungie in Dingle, s of the individual. n i dolphin is, indeed, well and truly stuck h As I write at the end of March, we Dusty in Doolin, Nimmo in Galway Docks and p l in sludge. While trying to heave this Dougie in Tory. o have had our busiest year so far, with d adult male, easily weighing 120 kg, out A large species, reaching adult lengths of 3.8 n twenty-one common dolphin live o of there, we all get sucked knee-deep metres, bottlenose dolphins are of powerful build. m into the slimy, smelly black sludge, strandings in the past three months m As with all dolphins, their dorsal fin is situated o alone, including the biggest group c with only head torches and seaweed

, midway along the back. They lack the body pattern e rafts to help us ease our way out of yet, of eleven adults and calves. u c Needless to say, we’d love to know of other species, and their overall colour is a s the gloop. But we succeed! And with e

r battleship grey, which grades to paler lower on the the help of some locals who come why they’re stranding and to figure n i flanks. They have a stubby beak, which is noticeably h down to help, we decide to get him to out a way of preventing it. The p l shorter than that of the common dolphin. o deep water, with no breaking waves, numbers that are stranding have d ( for his best chance. It is always a been growing, with this year being the You are as likely to identify bottlenose dolphins, y r however, by their behaviour. They seem to spend a e nerve-racking call when you decide to worst yet. And for this reason the v

O importance of all records of both live higher proportion of their activity budget move a dolphin by road, as you can e s performing intricate aerial manoeuvres, often with i only imagine what this must feel like and dead strandings reported to the u o to the animal! IWDG cannot be overstated, as it is more than one individual leaping synchronously high L

: s Dolphins very rarely seem to strand only with accurate data on these out of the water. They are gregarious, and will h p on nice, sunny summer days when events that the causes can be readily bowride boats. Group sizes of 6-15 a r g spending hours in the water with scientifically identified and defined, individuals are common, and typically smaller than o t

o them wouldn’t be a bone-chilling and ways to protect them legally more pelagic species. Their intelligence and sociable h

P experience. However, one of the implemented ❖ nature has unfortunately endeared this species to marine theme parks and captive facilities around the world, where they are trained to perform for Common dolphins in shallow water humans – a practice that is thankfully no longer considered acceptable in most countries and is banned in the Eu. Bottlenose dolphins have a varied diet, feeding on a range of large fish, which includes salmon. One behaviour, however, sets them apart from other dolphins: they have been linked in many areas to harbour porpoise deaths. Why one fish-eating odontocete would kill another, when it has no way of eating it, remains a mystery, and we can but speculate. Like many mammal species, it clearly has a dark side

Summer 2020 Flukes 23 Northern ireland Local Group/ Northern ireland Officer Cathy Gibson [email protected]

Contacts Donegal Local Group 086 222 3328

Sligo Local Group [email protected]

Mayo Local Group [email protected]

Celtic Mist irish Language Officer Pádraic de Bháldraithe iWDG ABR Marine [email protected] Celtic Mist Mammal Ecologist Clowie Russell Galway Local Group [email protected] [email protected]

West Clare Local Group [email protected] iWDG Head Office 065 905 1763 Education & Outreach Officer [email protected] Sibéal Regan [email protected]

North Kerry Local Group [email protected]

Conservation Officer Dave Wall [email protected]

West Waterford Local Group [email protected]

Strandings Officer Mick O’Connell [email protected] Sightings Officer Pádraig Whooley [email protected] Whale Watch Ireland 2020 August or september See our website for details Live strandings closer to the time National Parks and Wildlife Service +353 1 888 3242 Events and courses The IWDG runs a number of events and courses throughout the year. For upcoming events, please see https://iwdg.ie/events