• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

www.strandings.com Marine Mammal & Marine Turtle Strandings (Welsh Coast) Annual Report 2015 R.S.Penrose. July 2016 Marine Environmental Monitoring Penwalk Llechryd Cardigan Ceredigion West Wales SA43 2PS e-mail: [email protected] 1 CONTENTS Page 1 CRYNODEB GWEITHREDOL 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 2 INTRODUCTION 6 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 6 3.1 Live Animals. 7 3.2 Dead Animals. 7 4 RESULTS 8 4.1 Marine Mammals. 8 4.2 Bottlenose Dolphin Attacks. 13 4.3 Unusual Occurrences. 14 4.4 Live Strandings. 16 4.5 Tagging. 16 5 OTHER MARINE ANIMALS REPORTED TO THE NETWORK 17 5.1 Marine Turtles. 17 5.2 Seals. 18 5.3 Sharks. 19 6 SAMPLES 19 7 FUNDING 20 8 PUBLICITY 20 9 LEGISLATION 20 10 EQUIPMENT 21 11 TRAVEL 21 12 ADMINISTRATION 21 13 CAUSE OF DEATH 21 14 LIST OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES USED IN THIS REPORT 22 15 MATTERS ARISING 22 16 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 22 17 APPENDICES 22 2 List of Figures. page Figure 1. Current Technical Co-ordination of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP). 6 Figure 2. Reported bottlenose dolphin strandings on the Welsh coast. 10 Figure 3. Bottlenose dolphin strandings by month. 10 Figure 4. Bottlenose dolphin strandings averaged over 1990 to 2015. 10 Figure 5. Reported harbour porpoise strandings on the Welsh coast. 11 Figure 6. Harbour porpoise strandings by month. 11 Figure 7. Harbour porpoise strandings averaged over 1990 to 2015. 11 Figure 8. Reported grey seal mortality on the Welsh coast. 12 Figure 9. Grey seal mortality by month. 12 Figure 10. Grey seal reports averaged over 1990 to 2015. 12 Figure 11. Stranding locations of the six porpoises, recovered to the project, killed by bottlenose dolphins in 2015. 13 List of Plates. Plate 1. SW2015/22 being recovered from the beach. 14 Plate 2. Stomach contents from SW2015/322. 14 Plate 3. Propeller cuts on the tail of SW2015/419. 15 Plate 4. Stomach contents of SW2015/419. 15 Plate 5. SW2015/446 at Ynyslas. 15 Plate 6. T2015/028 first green turtle reported in Wales. 17 Plate 7. T2015/033 on Caldey Island. 18 Plate 8. Grey seal SS2015/189 with removed spear. 19 List of Tables. Table 1. 2015 Total number of reported marine mammal strandings (Welsh Coast). 8 Table 2. 2015 Number of live cetacean strandings (Welsh Coast). 8 Table 3. 2015 Number of animals selected for post-mortem examination. 9 Table 4. 2015 Number of animals decomposed/discarded (Welsh Coast). 9 Table 5. Cause of death (Cetaceans). 21 Table 6. List of scientific names used in this report. 22 3 1. CRYNODEB GWEITHREDOL Caiff yr UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP - rhaglen y DU ar gyfer ymchwilio tiriadau anifeiliaid o deulu'r morfilod) ei gydlynu’n dechnegol gan Gymdeithas Söolegol Llundain (ZSL). Teulu’r Morfilod: Derbyniodd Marine Environmental Monitoring adroddiadau am 91 o anifeiliaid o deulu'r morfil yn 2015. O’r rhain, llamidyddion (64 ohonynt) a grybwyllwyd amlaf. Cafwyd adroddiadau ynghylch anifeiliaid eraill o deulu'r morfilod wedi tirio ar lannau Cymru yn 2015, gan gynnwys dau ddolffin trwyn potel, 14 dolffin cyffredin, pum ‘rhywogaeth amhenodol o deulu’r morfil’, gan gynnwys un o deulu'r morfilod walbon, tri dolffin Risso, dau ddolffin rhesog, ac un dolffin amhenodol rhesog/cyffredin. Daeth pedwar llamhidydd i'r lan yn fyw. Dychwelwyd dau o'r rhain i’r môr. Cafwyd bod un o'r llamhidyddion yn farw erbyn i gymorth gyrraedd a difawyd un heb iddo ddioddef. Dewiswyd ugain o greaduriaid i’w harchwilio. Tri llamhidydd ar ddeg; tri dolffin cyffredin; dau ddolffin rhesog; un dolffin Risso; un dolffin trwyn potel. Cafwyd chwe llamhidydd yn 2015 ‘wedi’u lladd gan ddolffin trwyn potel’. Gorfu i’r cynllun wneud llai o gofnodi ers 2006 a gwnaeth hyn hi’n anodd cymharu tueddiadau yn y gweithgaredd hwn â rhai'r blynyddoedd cynt. Samplau: Yn ogystal â'r samplau arferol a gymerwyd o anifeiliaid a gasglwyd ar gyfer archwiliad post-mortem, cymerwyd samplau hefyd o dri llamhidydd a thri dolffin cyffredin. Morloi: Derbyniodd Marine Environmental Monitoring adroddiadau am 48 morlo llwyd marw. Ni chafwyd unrhyw arian pellach yn 2015 i ymchwilio 'toriadau corcsgriw' mewn morloi. Crwbanod: Derbyniodd MEM adroddiadau am chwe chrwban wedi tirio. Dau grwban môr pendew Kemp, un yn fyw a'r llall yn farw; dau grwban môr pendew, un yn fyw a'r llall yn farw; un crwban môr gwyrdd (y tro cyntaf yng Nghymru) marw; un crwban môr cefn lledr marw. Rhwng mis Awst a mis Medi 2015 cafwyd dau adroddiad o weld crwban môr cefn lledr byw. Heulforgwn: Ni chafwyd unrhyw adroddiad yn ystod 2015 am heulforgi’n tirio. Ariannu: Rhoddwyd estyniad i gytundeb Llywodraeth Cymru/Defra hyd fis Mawrth 2017. 4 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) is under the technical co-ordination of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Cetaceans: Ninety-one cetaceans were reported to Marine Environmental Monitoring in 2015. Harbour porpoise (n=64) was the most frequently reported cetacean. Other cetaceans reported stranded on the Welsh coast in 2015 included two bottlenose dolphins; fourteen common dolphins; five cetacean species indeterminate, including one mysticete; three Risso’s dolphins; two striped dolphins; one common/striped indeterminate. Four harbour porpoises live-stranded. Two of these animals were returned to the sea. One of the harbour porpoises was found to be dead on arrival of assistance and one was euthanized. Twenty cetaceans were selected for examination. Thirteen harbour porpoises; three common dolphins; two striped dolphins; one Risso’s dolphin; one bottlenose dolphin. Six harbour porpoises ‘killed by bottlenose dolphin’ were identified in 2015. Imposed reduced effort in recording from 2006 has made trends in this activity difficult to compare with previous years. Samples: In addition to routine samples taken from animals recovered for post-mortem examination, samples have also been taken from three harbour porpoises and three common dolphins. Seals: Forty-eight dead Atlantic grey seals were reported to MEM. No additional funding to investigate ‘corkscrew cuts’ in seals was forthcoming in 2015. Turtles: Six stranded turtles were reported to MEM. One live and one dead stranded Kemp’s ridley turtle; one dead and one live loggerhead turtle; one dead green turtle (first for Wales); one dead leatherback turtle. Reports of two live leatherback turtle ‘sightings’ were received between August and September 2015. Basking sharks: No basking shark strandings were reported during 2015. Funding: An extension to the WG/Defra contract has been let until March 2017. 5 2. INTRODUCTION In 1990, the ‘Collaborative UK Marine Mammal Strandings Project’ was initiated and part-funded by the UK Department of the Environment (now Defra). The project involves detailed pathological and other investigations of stranded marine mammal carcasses (mostly cetacean) from UK waters. It forms part of the Department's international obligations towards conservation agreements, including the "Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas" (ASCOBANS). Detailed pathological investigations of stranded marine turtles were included in 2001 and basking sharks in 2007. The project is now named the ‘Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme’ (CSIP) (see Figure 1.). Figure 1. Current technical co-ordination of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP). Funding to ZSL/IoZ, NHM and SAC was significantly reduced through 2006/2007. Funding to MEM by the Welsh Government and the Countryside Council for Wales fortunately remained at previous levels, however reduced travelling expenses supported by Defra via ZSL/IoZ has had a knock-on effect in Wales resulting in only known ‘fresh to moderate’ carcasses that can be successfully recovered for post-mortem examination being attended. Confirmation of species of other cetacean strandings has relied on digital photographs and known reliable sources. Where animals cannot be identified 100 per cent, the Strandings Co-ordinator has attended at his own expense if within a reasonable distance. Carcasses with unconfirmed species identification generally outside this area have been entered into the database as ‘cetacean species indeterminate’. In an attempt to operate within the reduced travelling budget two chest freezers were purchased and procedures now changed to freeze carcasses. Although this practice results in loss of some information during the post-mortem examination process, carcasses can now be ‘stock-piled’ and transported to London in larger numbers thus reducing the number of journeys per year. 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS A single contact number for the whole of the UK has been maintained. The UK number is a free- phone number 0800 6520333 and a stepped menu system takes the caller through whether the stranding is live or dead and directs them to the correct organisation and the correct strandings co- ordinator for the appropriate country. The old Welsh Strandings number 01348 875000 has now been cancelled. A network of volunteers, rangers, wardens, coastal officers, Harbour Masters etc. has been maintained who can be contacted by the Strandings Co-ordinator to confirm the stranding, assess its condition and 6 secure the animal from the effects of the tide, predation etc. until it can be dealt with. In recent years the use of digital cameras has vastly improved the quality of reporting as species, sex, and condition of carcass can be ascertained from the e-mailed image. A dedicated email address to receive digital photographs has been created [email protected] It is hoped this will reduce the number of ‘cetacean species indeterminate’ recorded in the database. The following criteria are applied: - 3.1 Live Animals (Condition code 1)1 In 1994 the Marine Animal Rescue Coalition (MARC) was formed. This consists of all the major animal welfare and conservation bodies involved with marine mammals in the UK.

Load more

  29

Copy Link