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Where Wonderous Creatures Roam
Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust
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People are fascinated with whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans), and we are intrigued by their lives beneath the waves. The Hebrides – the islands off the west coast of Scotland - are a special place where there is a chance to catch a glimpse of these mysterious creatures all year round from land and sea. Hebridean waters are rich and diverse. A quarter of all cetacean species known worldwide have been recorded here, including ocean giants like humpback and fin whales – the second largest animal on the planet! They are home to some of the highest densities of harbour porpoise in Europe, and support resident communities of bottlenose dolphin and the unique and vulnerable group of killer whales known as the West Coast Community. Seasonal visitors arrive on masse in the spring and include the minke whale - the smallest of the baleen species – common dolphin and basking shark. Despite minke whales only spending part of their time in the Hebrides, some individuals return year after year – for over a decade in some cases - and are well known to researchers. Common dolphins - relatively uncommon a decade ago – now super pods of common dolphins that go as far as the eye can see are encountered.
Although wild, beautiful and seemingly pristine, Hebridean seas are under threat from the impact of human activities. With marine mammals threatened by climate change, entanglement, pollution, underwater noise and habitat degradation, long-term research is crucial to understanding these impacts, and how we should best protect cetaceans from them. The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) has been monitoring cetaceans off the west coast of Scotland for 25 years. Data is key to gaining a better understanding of our cetacean species, and through expedition surveys undertaken on board Silurian – HWDTs research vessel – the Trust has generated one of the largest coherent databases of its kind for UK waters. For the past 15 years, Silurian and the citizen scientists who make the research programme on board possible, have travelled more than 100,000 kilometres monitoring our remarkable Hebridean seas. That’s the equivalent of sailing two and half times around the world. Silurian has recorded 30,000 animals during 13,000 sightings of 15 different species. The most frequently seen species has been the harbour porpoise, with more than 5,000 sightings. Paying volunteers spend the days scanning the seas for wildlife and the evenings exploring some of the most remote and beautiful anchorages the west coast has to offer. The same rigorous survey methodology has been used for 16 years, ensuring that the data collected are consistent and comparable between years, providing a wide scale assessment of cetacean distribution and animal behaviour. Anthropogenic parameters, such as underwater noise and marine litter, are also monitored to identify emerging threats and understand the conservation implications and risks. The long-term assessment of cetacean distribution that HWDT data provides is crucial because it produces a powerful and comparable data set that can be used to identify important areas, and detect trends and changes in the marine environment. One such example is the increasing number of shortbeaked common dolphins that have been observed over the past decade in the Hebrides. There is still so much to learn about Hebridean cetaceans and the challenges they face, and it’s only through continued monitoring that we can fill the gaps in our knowledge. Conservation is driven by people and through citizen science, people are more involved than ever. Join HWDT on board Silurian, get involved directly with conservation and have an incredible experience sailing our beautiful Hebridean seas.
Find out more at www.hwdt.org or contact info@hwdt.org
By Morven Summers, HWDT Communications Officer.
