VOLUNTEERS HAVE REACHED A MILESTONE 100,000 SURVEYS SHOREWATCH SAVING LIVES
The simple solution that’s reducing entanglements
The magazine for supporters of WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Autumn 2024 Issue 107
01Qticron
New Natura BGA WP DC Monocular
The unique features of the Natura BGA Mono offer coastguard services, surveyors and marine observers the ability to locate, observe and record the distance and bearing to objects across land and sea.
Features include:
Nitrogen waterproof construction finished in textured rubber I Long eye relief 7.4° wide-field eyepiece for easy track and trace I ED + PC Oasis optics w-high light transmission coatings= more detail in poor light I Mil scale reticule for measurement of distance to an object of a known size I 360° floating compass allows you to take a bearing at+/-20° to the horizontal I Integrated ¼" thread to connect to a tripod for hands-free viewing
8x42 £159
Marine-2 w/compass
Fully armoured & nitrogen gas filled waterproof the Marine-2 is fitted with an illuminated compass and distance scale projected into the left hand eyepiece. 10 year guarantee.
7x50 £249
Explorer WA ED-R
Using our trademark compact optical system, the Explorer WA ED-Rdelivers an unbeatable combination of specification, quality and ergonomics.
8x32 £229 I 10x32 £239
8x42 £249 I 10x42 £259
Oregon 4 PC Oasis
Offering class leading fields of view, resolution and colour contrast, Oregon binoculars are a natural choice for almost all types of daytime wildlife observation.
8x32 £139 I 8x42 £149
10x42 £159 I 10x50 £169
We were devastated by the Icelandic government’s decision to allow up to 128 fin whales to be killed this summer and by news that fin whales are now being targeted by Japanese whalers too. However, your autumn Whale & Dolphin is still bursting with success stories that you have made possible.
We’ve completed a trial of fishing rope that could reduce
minke whale entanglements in the seas around Scotland by 80%, while on Scotland’s shores our volunteers have clocked up one million minutes recording data that helps us to secure protection for whales and dolphins.
I’d also like to say a personal thank you if you took part in our surveys and focus groups – we’re making improvements to our adoption packages based on your feedback.
amazing things you do to support us, plus ways to donate
Orcas travel great distances every day in the wild to eat, breed and socialise
the latest news about your favourite dolphins, humpbacks and orcas
In the first of a new series, get to know the people working behind the scenes to help you protect whales and dolphins
BreachingNews
dolphins
And joined climate campaigners to urge politicians to act now
We took to the streets of London to make sure your voice was heard at the recent Restore Nature Now march.
Joining 60,000 other protestors, we spoke up for whales and dolphins outside the Houses of Parliament just before the UK general election. We reminded politicians that these amazing beings are critical
in helping us overcome climate breakdown and that there’s no future on a dead planet.
Nature lovers and climate campaigners of all ages from across the country came together to make it an event to remember. As well as blasting out whale song along the route, we amplified an important message: UK politicians must show leadership on nature and
climate at home and abroad by making polluters pay, delivering more space for nature, putting a right to a healthy environment into law, and ensuring fair and effective climate action.
The general election represented a turning point for our natural world. Politicians of all parties must join together and act now for people, nature and climate.
Keep an eye on whales.org/newsandblogs Follow @whalesorg on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X,
Chris Packham and WDC staff and supporters speaking up for nature
Hunting permits granted in Iceland
Following a long political battle, the Icelandic authorities have granted a fin whaling licence to whalers for a limited one-year period.
With your support, we scrutinised the suffering inflicted on fin whales during the 2022 and 2023 hunts, and provided a report to the Icelandic government. It has ignored the
evidence, but the resulting delays may have denied whalers time to go out to sea and hunt at all this year.
The government’s own assessment showed how whales continue to suffer in these hunts, so allowing permits this summer seems bizarre.
Thanks to you, we will continue our work with partners in Iceland to push for an end to the hunts.
NEW WHALE HUNTING SHIP LEAVES PORT
The whale hunting season in Japan got underway following the launch of a new whaling vessel, the Kangei Maru. This new mothership replaces the ageing Nisshin Maru. A floating slaughterhouse, it will be at sea for around eight months and has the capability to store up to 600 tonnes of whale meat.
The eye-watering cost of building the Kangei Maru is estimated to be around 7.5bn yen (about US$50m). As the demand for whale meat is low, the construction costs were financed by a large loan, plus a considerable amount would have had to have come from government subsidies. With your help, we can continue to campaign at political forums and with local organisations in Japan, Iceland and Norway to change hearts and minds, and finally end commercial whaling.
8 At sea for months Cost
600 $50 Stores up to tonnes of whale meat million to build
Giving whales a voice on the world stage
International Whaling Commission hears about our success
Thanks to your support, our team has been making sure whales and dolphins are represented at the Scientific Committee meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC – the body that regulates whale hunts around the globe).
We joined more than 200 experts from many nations who gathered to share their knowledge and secure the best possible outcomes around threats to whales and dolphins from shipping, chemical pollution and fishing gear. WDC’s representatives gave a
presentation on the success of our work with fishers in Scotland trialling a new type of sinking fishing gear. See page 14 to find out more.
We also raised the profile of the role that whales play in keeping the ocean healthy, highlighting where the knowledge gaps are when it comes to whales and the marine ecosystem.
We know they cycle nutrients, store carbon and even provide essential habitats for other deep sea species when they die and fall to the ocean floor, but we need more data to convince policymakers that this
means that they need to protect these climate giants.
As a result, the IWC will hold a workshop to prioritise boosting knowledge in this area.
Gaining the backing of the IWC’s Scientific Committee for both projects means we are now able to continue with them.
An added bonus is that the role of dolphins and the smaller whales in ocean ecosystems will be considered for the first time in the IWC’s history, and new Conservation Management Plans were also approved for multiple species, including Lahille’s bottlenose dolphins and Guiana dolphins.
JAPANESE GOVERNMENT ADDS FIN WHALES TO KILL LIST
Nearly 300 whales were killed by Japanese whalers last year, including minke, Bryde’s and sei whales. Now they have added fin whales, the second largest mammal on the planet, to the list. This move may impact the future
of the fin whaling industry in Iceland, which exports lots of meat to Japan.
The Japanese whaling industry promotes the misconception that there are too many whales in the ocean and that their
Orcas not attacking ships, says IWC
A new report by scientists at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has reinforced our view that a group of orcas interacting with sailing vessels off the Iberian Peninsula are playing with, rather than attacking, the boats.
The group of about 15 orcas are likely just mischievous teenagers with free time, say experts. Many media reports have amplified a negative narrative, even suggesting the orcas are ‘avenging’ humans.
This has led to calls for action to be taken against the pod, with some sailors taking matters into their own hands.
Experts analysed footage of orcas during aggressive hunting and when they were playing, and noted they were pushing boat rudders gently with the tip of the nose. Such behaviour is different from documented orca aggression.
The Iberian population only amounts to around 40 and is considered to be endangered.
populations must be reduced to maintain marine ecosystem balance. It is trying to boost whale meat sales to support the claim that eating it is an essential part of Japanese culture.
In fact, whale meat only became commonplace after food shortages during and after the Second World War. Opinion polls have found that up to 85% of Japanese people now very rarely or never eat whale meat.
The young orcas are likely looking for fun rather than ‘revenge’ and/or follow us on @whalesorg on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and LinkedIn
Bryde’s whales
Minke whales
Sei whales
Under attack
Fin whales
There’s little demand for whale meat in Japan today
High levels of contaminants in whale meat sold in Norway
You have helped our work with partner organisations to investigate the levels of toxins found in whale meat on sale in Norway.
Our tests detected chemicals that can lead to harmful health effects in humans. We are now calling on the Norwegian government to expand comprehensive and thorough monitoring and testing of all whale meat destined for human consumption, both domestically and for export.
We are also urging tourists visiting Norway not to eat the meat, which is available in restaurants and as snacks in tourist shops.
The contaminants found can lead to a range of human health issues including developmental problems, cancer, kidney disease, and impacts on the liver, heart and immune system.
Together with the Animal Welfare Institute and Norway’s largest animal welfare NGO, NOAH, we sent raw and frozen samples of minke whale meat purchased online and from
grocery stores in Norway to a Tromsø lab for independent, expert analysis.
The most significant finding was that perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was present in all whale meat samples tested. With levels of up to 7.2 (nanograms) per kg, a 70kg human consuming just 100g of whale meat would significantly exceed the tolerable weekly intake for PFOS established by the European Food Safety Authority, which recommends humans do not exceed 4.4g per kg of body weight per week.
PFOS is among a class of chemicals known as PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’, which are found in many everyday manufactured products.
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority is already concerned about PFAS consumption and advises against eating fish with similar PFAS levels to those found in the whale meat samples tested. Yet the Norwegian government does not currently provide health advice about contaminants in whale meat.
This portion size means a 70kg (154lb) human
Whale meat is openly on sale in Norwegian restaurants and tourist shops
WHY ARE WHALES POOING ON ORCAS?
We know whale poo plays a vital role in the health of the ocean, but are some whales using their faeces as a defence mechanism as well?
Whale poo is rich in nutrients that phytoplankton, tiny ocean plants at the
bottom of the food chain, need to grow. Phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide and produce most of the oxygen in the ocean. Recently, whale watchers off Western Australia witnessed sperm whales seeming to defecate
Maori king grants rights for whales in historic declaration
New Zealand’s Māori king and other native leaders across the Pacific region, including Tahiti and the Cook Islands, have signed a historic declaration that recognises whales as ‘legal persons’. The treaty is an attempt to protect the rights of whales, ensuring they have a healthy environment and freedom of movement. It also seeks to help restore their numbers and
push national governments for improved protection.
Whales face many threats from human activities and this move to create legal personhood for them can provide these sentient beings with legal rights.
As with humans, whales and dolphins are intelligent and capable of experiencing pleasure and suffering pain. Research now reveals that
near a group of orcas, who quickly disappeared. Experts are unsure if this was a deliberate act of selfdefence by the sperm whales. Those on the boat saw the sperm whales (four adults and one juvenile) form
Experts are hoping to get to the bottom of this behaviour
a tight grouping while the orcas circled them, and then they seemed to release a cloud of faeces into the water. At this point the orcas moved away from the immediate area. Coincidence or defensive defecation?
they have complex cultures and societies all of their own. This is why whales and dolphins should have special recognition and deserve the kind of protection that comes with legal rights.
To find out why we are campaigning for whale and dolphin rights, visit whales.org/culture
Whales are sentient beings with rights
JULIA PIX is head of engagement and editor of Whale & Dolphin
Don’t support cruelty
We’re urging tourists not to visit whale or dolphin attractions when they go on holiday
Our campaign to end whale and dolphin captivity has gone from strength to strength.
Just 10 years ago, pretty much all the major UK holiday companies sold tickets to whale and dolphin attractions such as SeaWorld in the US and Loro Parque in Tenerife.
Today, only a handful – including TUI and Carnival Cruises – have refused to move with the times, even though we have presented them with the scientific evidence that whales and dolphins suffer enormously when they are confined for human entertainment.
Over the last few years, you’ve helped us convince one travel firm after another to end their support for these cruel circuses. We started with our successful campaign to persuade Virgin Holidays to stop selling tickets to SeaWorld and since then most of
the big players have followed suit, with the most recent wins being easyJet holidays and Jet2holidays.
We’re hoping that our long-running campaign to persuade the world’s largest tour operator, TUI, to drop these attractions from its books will see success before too long.
Together we’ve created incredible change across the UK travel industry – we’re so proud of that, and you should be too. Now it’s time to shift our focus to the UK tourists who keep these terrible places in business by visiting them when they go abroad, so we’ve been running adverts aimed at making holidaymakers think twice before going to a whale or dolphin show, or swimming with dolphins.
We haven’t held captive whales or dolphins in Britain for more than 30 years, and now much of the UK travel industry
has stopped supporting the cruelty. The previous government passed an act that will hopefully make it illegal in the UK to advertise captive whale or dolphin attractions abroad. And yet UK tourists still flock to these shows when they are on holiday and swimming with dolphins constantly ranks highly on people’s ‘bucket lists’.
I’m sure people don’t intend to support cruelty, they just don’t realise that the dolphin they swam with is trapped forever in a sea pen, unable to behave naturally, forced to interact with tourist after tourist, over and over, long after they have gone home. Or that the orca leaping from her pool is drugged, depressed and desperate, unable to travel vast distances and robbed of her family and what it truly means to be an orca.
As part of our airport campaign, we’re running adverts online, targeting people
‘We’re
who are searching for holidays and activities in destinations such as the Canary Islands and Florida, where they will see promotions for captive attractions, and asking them to think twice before falling for the marketing.
Our research has told us that children have a big influence on the choices their parents and guardians make about holiday activities, and we discovered that 60% of UK children think that whales and dolphins
so lucky in the UK. I’ve watched orcas from Scottish clifftops and bottlenose dolphins from the harbourside in Wales. Why see them in a tank when you are abroad when you can experience them in the wild at home?’
Rob Lott, End Captivity campaigner
SPOTLIGHT ON
ROB LOTT
End Captivity campaigner
What is your role in this campaign?
To shine a spotlight on the reality of this cruel industry by exposing the poor welfare standards and confined conditions that whales and dolphins endure in the name of so-called entertainment.
What excites you most about the campaign?
We appreciate that people have a choice, so I think it’s the opportunity to reach millions of holidaymakers and help them make an informed decision based on one clear, simple request.
Your message for holidaymakers?
Just don’t buy a ticket, it’s that simple. Take a moment to think about the life whales and dolphins were meant to live –wild and free.
HAYLEY FLANAGAN
Engagement officer and deputy editor of Whale & Dolphin
What is your role in this campaign?
To raise public awareness and to make people think twice before visiting a whale or dolphin attraction when they’re on holiday.
What excites you most about the campaign?
We have a powerful opportunity to share the truth with the next generation of changemakers – children – so that this cruelty comes to an end.
Your message for holidaymakers?
Don’t go to a show to see whales and dolphins, go and see them where they are safe and free, in the wild. You will not be disappointed!
LAUREN ANDREWS Content creator
What is your role in this campaign?
To create visual content that highlights the important role individuals have in choosing not to support cruelty.
What excites you most about the campaign?
Being able to start conversations among families and getting people thinking about ways we can all work towards a more positive future where whales and dolphins can live safe and free.
Your message for holidaymakers?
You have the amazing opportunity to demonstrate to the next generation that we can all help secure a captivity-free life for whales and dolphins around the globe.
CAPTIVITY: THE FACTS
60%
of UK kids think dolphins should not be kept in captivity to entertain humans
of UK adults would be unlikely to visit whales or dolphins in captivity if they were attending with children who said that they didn’t want go 65%
of UK adults who have been to a whale or dolphin attraction would not go again 66%
3,700
whales and dolphins are held in tanks and sea pens around the world to amuse tourists
should not be kept in tanks. So we are asking adults to talk to their children before making them go to the show.
Sometimes it can feel as though nothing changes.
There are still about 3,700 whales and dolphins held against their will in tanks and sea pens around the world. TUI still hasn’t changed its policy. And UK
Humourist and performance poet
Matt Harvey wrote and performed ‘Smile’ for our campaign. Scan the QR code to enjoy the video.
tourists still step off a cruise ship and into a swim-with-dolphins facility in the Caribbean, or visit SeaWorld as part of a holiday package.
But people are waking up not just to the suffering these individuals endure in captivity, but also to the cruelty that put them there – either forced breeding or brutal capture from their wild ocean home.
The explosion of facilities in China is another story and we have big plans in that region.
We’re under no illusions about the magnitude of that challenge.
At least the days of whale and dolphin captivity in Europe and North America are surely numbered, and attitudes here have shifted enormously. When we focus on what has changed rather than what hasn’t, we can feel hope and pride in the part that we have each played.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
If you are offered a ticket to a whale or dolphin attraction while you are on holiday, politely decline and explain why
Don’t be tempted by swim-with-dolphins experiences, they will be in a sea pen or a tank
Talk to your friends and family, including children
Help
end whale and dolphin captivity for good with
a donation
Together we’ve achieved huge changes, but we need your help to keep moving forward
We’ve persuaded many tour operators to stop promoting this cruel industry. Now we need to ensure that other companies follow. Will you help?
You can use the tear-off slip on the cover of your magazine to support this crucial work. Every donation helps to move us closer to a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free. Thank you so much for anything you can give.
Your donation could:
• Raise awareness of the cruelty of captivity to stop people visiting these facilities
• Work with tour operators to phase out whale and dolphin exploitation
• Prevent construction of new dolphin attractions
• Stop the capture and trade of whales and dolphins from the wild
Scan the QR code OR VISIT: whales.org/ helpendcaptivity
Together we will end captivity
Swim-withdolphins experiences exploit captive dolphins
A simple solution is saving lives
Exciting
things are happening:
people are coming together to make positive changes in the seas around Scotland
When a whale becomes entangled in fishing rope they may never escape, and those who do are often left with painful injuries. It is an encounter with danger that fishers don’t want to see either. But out of sight in the waters around Scotland exciting things are happening. Like-minded people have come together. Whales are being saved.
The largest identified cause of death due to human activity for minke and humpback whales in Scotland is entanglement in rope lines that join pots (or creels) together on the seabed to catch langoustines (or prawns as they are known locally), crabs and lobsters. Thanks to a project led by our expert team, working closely with creel fishers, we have
made a breakthrough that could see minke whale entanglements alone reduce by 80%.
As with many solutions to difficult issues, simplicity is genius. Our project trialled readily available rope that sinks rather than floats. The rope currently used is buoyant and forms floating arches in the water rather than lying on the seabed.
These loops can be several metres high and whales and other marine life can easily get tangled in them. Studies show that most whales and basking sharks entangled in static fishing gear are caught in this floating line. In numbers, that’s an annual average of six humpback whales and 30 minke whales. But if there are no large floating loops of rope, then whales cannot become entangled in them –it’s as simple as that. With funding from Jingle Jam and the Scottish government’s Nature Restoration Fund managed by NatureScot, trials of a new and relatively low-cost
6 humpback whales
With sinking line, minke whale entanglements could reduce by 80%
Average number of whales who could be saved each year: ran for 18 months involved 15 fishing vessels monitored more than 1,500 hauls
30 minke whales
OUR PROJECT
DANNY GROVES is WDC’s head of communications
Bally Philp from the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation
solution were able to take place over a period of 18 months. The 15 fishing vessels from the Inner Sound and Sound of Sleat area east of the Isle of Skye that used the sinking rope reported back each time they hauled their gear.
More than 1,500 hauls were logged during the trial, with any potential problems such as snagging monitored too. For the trials to be a success it was vital that, in addition to saving whales, there were no practical issues and that costs for the fleet were not high. Fishers reported positive experiences, and there were no impacts on the seabed. The solution was working.
Susannah Calderan, who managed the project for WDC, is excited about the trial findings. She says: ‘The Scottish inshore creel fishery plays an important economic and community role in rural coastal areas in Scotland. Resolving the issue of entangling whales is a major step forward for the fishing industry, for conservation and for welfare.
‘This very successful bottom-up partnership approach with Scottish creel fishers and the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation demonstrates the importance of collaborative approaches to address complex issues.’
What now? The next step for this project is to consult with other fishers around Scotland, and with the government, to understand the possible options for implementing sinking rope more widely.
The Scottish government is committed to reducing the problem of entanglement in nets and fishing gear, and this unique project offers great hope. If rolled out internationally, just think how many more whales we will save.
‘Resolving the issue of entangling whales is a major step forward for the fishing industry, for conservation and for welfare’ WORKING TOGETHER!
We were thrilled to lead this project as members of the Scottish Entanglement Alliance. As well as WDC, the alliance comprises NatureScot, the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust and British Divers Marine Life Rescue. Thanks to our brilliant colleagues at these organisations for making the project possible.
Bally Philp demonstrates the deadly arches formed when rope floats
SPOTLIGHT ON BIANCA CISTERNINO, WDC’S BYCATCH CAMPAIGNER
What was your role in the project?
I oversaw the project’s development, progress and outputs, ensuring effective collaboration and successful achievement of our objectives.
What excited you most about it?
The project benefits both whales and fishers, providing a sustainable solution that protects marine life while supporting the fishing industry.
What’s next?
We want to engage the government to support widespread adoption of sinking rope in creel fisheries, and conduct workshops in Scotland to share our findings. We’d love to see all creel fishers make the switch.
How will we end entanglement globally?
We need to work with fishers worldwide to develop solutions that are both environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial.
What can individuals do?
If you choose to eat fish and other marine wildlife, support sustainable fishing practices. Choose fish that has been caught using pole and line (or oneto-one fishing), or crabs, lobsters and langoustines that have been caught in fisheries that use sinking lines.
You’re making the ocean safer for whales
Bite of the action
Whale & Dolphin editor
Julia Pix reflects on a unique insight into ocean life
I have looked at thousands of photos of whales and dolphins, but sometimes a picture stops me in my tracks because it shows me a view of a whale or a dolphin that I haven’t seen before. This is one of those images.
Photographer Rafael Fernandez Caballero, the winner of the Behaviour category in the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024 awards, says: ‘Bait balls of sardines attracted a variety of predators, but the main stars of the show, visiting Baja in perhaps larger numbers than ever, were the Bryde’s whales.
‘They patrolled the waters, searching for bait balls to get their bellies full of hundreds of kilograms of fish. This photo shows the very moment of attack, with the whale’s ventral pleats wide open and filtering the prey from the water using their baleens after engulfing hundreds of kilograms of sardines in one bite – simply unforgettable.’
It reminds me of the vast, interconnected web of life under the waves that humans rarely glimpse. Whales roamed the ocean for millions of years before humans existed, but just look at the damage we have caused to them and their home in such a small amount of time.
Pictures like this inspire me to do everything I can to make sure whales recover and thrive.
Citizen scientists
Shorewatch volunteers have reached a major milestone, logging more than 100,000 surveys around
Over the past 19 years, our citizen science programme Shorewatch has expanded from one survey site at our Scottish Dolphin Centre near Inverness, on Scotland’s north-east coast, to 62 sites all around Scotland. My involvement began in 2016 as a Shorewatch volunteer recording bottlenose dolphins and their calves in Aberdeen Harbour. I’ve also spent eight months as a residential volunteer at the Scottish Dolphin Centre during which time I travelled to meet Shorewatch
Scotland
volunteers around Scotland, and had memorable sightings of Risso’s dolphins and minke whales.
For the past three years, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to set up Shorewatch sites across Orkney and Shetland. During this time, I’ve witnessed some amazing sights, such as groups of up to 150 harbour porpoises, and studied Risso’s dolphins using photo ID.
These experiences have been both rewarding and
CAT MCGINLEY
MEET SOME OF OUR SHOREWATCHERS
RONNIE MACKIE
DAVID JONES
CATHY MULLINS
‘I spotted my first orca pod this summer. It was so exhilarating when out of nowhere a black dorsal fin broke through the misty water. It’s an amazing feeling knowing I’m contributing to their protection.’
‘It is like therapy for me, one of the only ways I feel relaxed sitting still. As well as the excitement of seeing incredible species, it is rewarding to share your enthusiasm with passersby. So many people stop to chat about what I am seeing –it’s a whole new social life.’
‘I started doing Shorewatch with my daughter. It’s a fantastic way to spend quality time with her, especially as she is now reaching mid-teens and Dad is not always so popular! I still get a great feeling when I hear the excitement in her voice after she sees a dolphin or whale.’
‘It was hard to rid the anxiety brought on by the pandemic. Getting back to socialising is important and this Shorewatch social has been part of my recovery.’
Emma Steel and furry volunteer Santi survey the shore
EMMA STEEL is WDC’s Shorewatch coordinator
SPOTLIGHT ON THE WDC SHOREWATCH TEAM
KATIE DYKE
Shorewatch coordinator
What’s your role?
I have the fortunate job of supporting our wonderful Shorewatch volunteers, running training, assisting with surveys and taking care of Shorewatch sites around Scotland.
What’s the best thing about Shorewatch?
Meeting inspiring people who volunteer their time to stand up for the protection of whales and dolphins, and seeing these amazing beings wild and free in Scotland.
Tell us about your favourite moment Shorewatching?
Watching a harbour porpoise feeding close to shore in crystal clear water and sharing this amazing moment with volunteers and passers-by.
ALICE WALTERS
Shorewatch data coordinator
What’s your role?
I manage the Shorewatch database, ensuring it is accurate and accessible. I facilitate a flow of information from the watch into the database and back out to data users.
What’s the best thing about Shorewatch?
Every watch counts. Whether it’s in 2005 or 2024, whether there’s a sighting or not, or whether it’s a recently trained Shorewatcher or a long-time volunteer – each effort is important.
Tell us about your favourite moment Shorewatching?
Just before you start. You pick up the binoculars and take a breath. You have no idea who might pop up but you know that for the next 10 minutes you get to put everything else to the side and watch the sea. It is the perfect blend of anticipation and tranquillity.
SOME OF THE SPECIES SPOTTED
inspiring, highlighting to me the amazing variety and beauty of marine life and the importance of working in tandem with local experts, passionate volunteers and community groups.
Orkney and Shetland are renowned for their rich marine biodiversity, but there’s still much we don’t know and that’s why we expanded Shorewatch – to help fill these data gaps so that better protection can be afforded in the future.
Over the past three years of surveying in Orkney and Shetland, we’ve had nearly 2,000 sightings of 12 different species of whales, dolphins and porpoises, and trained almost 200 volunteers.
This year, our data showcased the incredible diversity of species in these waters, leading to both regions being recognised as Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) – a vital first step towards getting legal protection measures.
This is a testament to what we can achieve together, and I think it’s important to celebrate both the marine environment and the people who are passionate about protecting it.
Shorewatch is WDC’s flagship citizen science project and boasts a dedicated team of passionate volunteers who monitor the sea around Scotland through 10-minute Shorewatch surveys. Volunteers not only record sightings of whales, dolphins and porpoises, but also keep an eye out for potential threats or disturbance. They engage with thousands of people each year, passing on their knowledge and inspiring others to appreciate and protect the whales and dolphins they share the coastline with.
A MILLION MINUTES
MAKING WAVES
Here are some of the ways that Shorewatch data has helped
1. Convinced the Scottish government to protect the waters around the Isle of Lewis
2.Fed into government planning
3. Supported studies into acoustics and on how the ocean contributes to our mental wellbeing
4. Provided a unique picture of how whales and dolphins interact with shipping and other human activity
To keep volunteering exciting, we’ve introduced the Winter Challenge – filling data gaps during the winter when traditional research is limited. While summer might seem ideal for spotting whales and dolphins, winter offers its own opportunities.
Over the past three winters, Shorewatch volunteers have recorded species such as harbour porpoises, bottlenose dolphins, orcas, humpback whales and even a beluga whale. This year-round data collection is crucial for us to better understand how whales and dolphins use Scottish coastal waters and our volunteers took the Winter Challenge to heart, doubling their efforts during these colder months.
‘Shorewatch encourages people to spend time outside’
This year, Shorewatch volunteers achieved an incredible milestone –100,000 Shorewatch surveys. That’s the equivalent of one million minutes of survey effort. In 19 years of surveying, more than 1,000 volunteers have recorded over 30,000 sightings of 17 different species of whales and dolphins.
Beyond the positive conservation impact, Shorewatch encourages people to spend time outside, breathing in the fresh sea air. Volunteers have noted the effects on their mental health from taking time to focus on the water. I always feel more relaxed after just 10 minutes watching the sea. Additionally, we’ve built a community, creating a strong network of volunteers across Scotland, which has helped people reintegrate into social situations post-pandemic.
It’s remarkable to look back on the efforts of Shorewatch volunteers over the years and what we’ve been able to achieve together. In future, I’d like to see Shorewatch expand and continue to build our relationships with communities, academics, local experts and partner organisations so we can have the greatest impact.
Emma Steel, left, red t-shirt, collects vital data with Shorewatch volunteers, below and left
You’re part of the wave of change
Thank you for helping to create a Norway For Whales
In April we asked for your help to mobilise a wave of change in Norway, inspiring activists and Norwegian people to end the whale hunts there.
We set an ambitious target for our Big Give appeal, aiming to raise £40,000 in one week, but we needn’t have worried because you smashed this target in just five days, raising more than £50,000 in total. Your donations have already made a significant impact.
We used some of the funds to test whale meat from Norwegian grocery stores, revealing that eating the meat can be toxic to humans. We will share this evidence with Norwegian people to push for an end to the hunts. Read the full story on page 8.
We held a workshop with passionate Norwegian activists and young people, helping them to shape campaigns that will increase knowledge and change minds. Plus, you’ve enabled us to create a website in Norwegian to grow public awareness of whaling
and nurture an appreciation of whales among local people.
Thanks to you we will continue to grow this movement until we end the killing of these beautiful, thinking, feeling beings.
By making a donation and sharing our content, you are a changemaker. You have joined a global movement of people creating a Norway For Whales, not by condemning, but by connecting, mobilising and shaking things up. Thank you.
KATHERINE AND SOPHIE BAKE OFF
Katherine Brown and her daughter Sophie cooked up a storm at their charity bake sale, raising £145 for whales and dolphins. We’re so impressed with their professional setup!
ELIZABETH STEPS UP
Did you know there are 334 steps up to Big Ben? Elizabeth Ralls and her pals climbed to the top of the famous clock tower in pink tutus and feather boas in support of WDC. Together, they raised a fantastic £432.10.
Whale meat for sale and, above, a minke whale
SuppORtER spotlIGht COMpEtItION WINNER:
JacOb SOUthfIEld
‘My entry to WDC’s World Ocean Day art competition represents a dead coral reef brought back to life by the presence of a whale, demonstrating the role whales play in the health of our ocean.’
Massive thanks BRIT for supporting our work create safe seas funding the role our marine pollution coordinator Pine EisfeldPierantonio!
You can get involved!
Take on a challenge for whales and dolphins
Earlier this year, we conducted a supporter survey to find out which challenge events you’d love to take on in support of WDC. We were delighted to hear from so many of you and are excited to introduce a range of new challenge events for 2025. Want to be the first to know what we’ve got coming up?
LUKE HAS A BLAST
Luke Harding set off on a more than 600-mile journey along the south-west coastal path, hiking and volunteering on the way. Luke said afterwards: ‘Although my feet ache and my legs don’t feel like they belong to me any more, I had an absolute blast.’ Luke’s incredible effort raised £1,079!
SUPER CYCLISTS
CHERYL AND DOMINIC
Husband and wife
Cheryl and Dominic Wilks completed a 55-mile London to Brighton cycle ride on 16 June, raising £288. What a brilliant achievement!
Scan the QR code and join our challenge events mailing list for exclusive updates ahead of the 2025 events season. Or if you want to organise your own event and feature in our next magazine,
visit whales.org/getinvolved for inspiration and let us know at events@whales.org
1. Donate to whales.org/ helpendcaptivity
2. Play the Weekly Lottery at lottery.whales.org
3. Write your Will today for FREE at will.octopuslegacy.com/WDC and use the code WDCFREE
Awesome
Freedom to roam
Highly intelligent social beings, orcas travel great distances every day
Orcas are remarkable. They are the largest member of the dolphin family. They are unmatched in the ocean for agility, athleticism and strength. They have no enemies except humans.
These intelligent, emotional, social beings have evolved for life on the move. They navigate a wide
variety of underwater habitats such as coastal rocky inlets, kelp forests, sandy and rocky bottoms, rubbing beaches, seagrass meadows and deeper waters further from shore.
An orca pod can travel 160km in a single day, reaching swimming speeds of more than 48km/hour and regularly diving to depths
of 150–300m. Orcas hunt collaboratively day and night, using their highly developed communication and echolocation skills. Individuals often return to the surface to share their catch with others, and orcas need to be with their families in the ocean to thrive and live the lives they are born to live.
DiD YOU KnOW?
The deepest recorded dive for an orca is 1,087m
Wild orcas usually swim a whopping 64km a day to forage and stay fit and healthy
Orcas have the second largest brain of any species on the planet – only gigantic sperm whales have larger brains
RestRicted lives in captivity
In contrast to the extraordinary and mobile lives orcas have evolved, consider the sad existence of captive orcas. They are deprived of the ability to roam and collaborate for hunting and exploration. Confined to concrete tanks, they are robbed of everything and anything that defines their natural behaviour. They cannot swim freely, dive, surf or enter kelp forests or other natural marine environments. They cannot use their highly developed echolocation skills, talk to their kin or socialise with other families. Read about our Don’t Go To The Show campaign on page 10.
Bend, Simoom, Fife, Holly and the other Northern Resident orcas roam from the Gulf of Alaska to Vancouver Island, locations more than 1,000km apart as the crow flies
Captive orcas suffer unimaginable physical and psychological harm. They are too big, too clever and too social, and in order to thrive they need to swim long distances, dive to ocean depths, hunt and socialise. It’s unbelievably cruel to confine an individual whose range is so vast.
The average orca tank at SeaWorld is 26m x 15.5m and just 10m deep, while adult orcas are 7-8m long
Humpback headlines
Our experts have their eyes peeled for sightings
Adoptions manager
Philly Gaisford
At WDC we love the summer months because it’s sightings season. It’s a time when we hear about the wonderful encounters our friends in Scotland, Canada and North America have had with your adopted whale or dolphin.
We know how important your chosen individual is to you, as well as the wellbeing of their family, so when Rainbow, Bend or maybe Salt have been sighted, we can’t wait to tell you.
But spotting them isn’t always easy. Luckily we’ve got a network of experts to help.
Charlie in Scotland knows the dolphins’ behaviours like the back of his hand, giving him the inside scoop on their whereabouts.
Our friends at OrcaLab, who devote their lives to studying and protecting the Northern Resident orcas, provide updates on Bend, Holly, Simoom and Fife. While the orcas haven’t been spotted yet this year, the committed OrcaLab team are closely monitoring the usual orca habitats in anticipation of their arrival.
And then we have our WDC team in North America, who let us know when the humpbacks are back in town.
Now let’s turn our attention to the real stars of the show – the adoption whales and dolphins.
By executive director of WDC North America Regina Asmutis-Silvia
A newborn humpback is approximately 4.5m long.
Salt soaks up the sunshine
Waiting for the arrival of the adoption humpbacks and then welcoming them back to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in the summer is a true joy. It gave us great pleasure to announce the arrival of Salt this year on 17 May.
Just look at this fantastic photo of her – if you close your eyes, you can almost feel the swell of the water and hear it whoosh as it pours out
of her powerful mouth. Just imagine how nice the sun would have felt on her head, perhaps reminding her of warmer climes a few months before when she had been in the West Indies. We’re also happy to report that Salt’s 24-year-old daughter Mostaza was spotted at the end of April and again in July, and her son Brine was seen in June. Maybe Salt knew they were around and headed back to say hello?
Reflection is busy teaching her baby
Reflection has been busy showing her calf some great feeding areas around the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. This is Reflection’s sixth child, who she’ll care for and protect for up to a year and we’re quickly edging closer to this marker.
As her calf gets older, Reflection will slowly wean them off her milk and start teaching them how to find and corral fish. The close bond that develops over the year that mother and calf spend together is incredibly important for the calf’s survival when they go out to face the ocean alone.
Our amazing community of adopters are helping to create a world where every
Mars has a new calf
We’ve got some very exciting news. Mars has been sighted, and with a new calf! This addition means that Mars now has 13 calves and seven grandcalves.
feeding grounds. Mars was taught her route by her mother, who learnt it from her mother before that.
Our Whale SENSE partners at Jersey Shore Whale Watch spotted her and her baby in mid-July. Humpback whales tend to follow established migration paths between their breeding and
Coral takes his time to return
Despite being one of the most social humpbacks, we’re still waiting to confirm sightings of Coral. Last year, he didn’t appear until September when he was spotted feeding with more than a dozen of his friends, including his sibling Chablis, who was joining in the fun.
There’s a huge advantage to bubble-net feeding with friends –more whales mean more bubbles, which makes for a more effective trap for the fish. By working together, Coral and his friends catch more fish than they would on their own.
This is especially important during the feeding season as they’ll need extra blubber for their long migration back to the Caribbean in the winter.
We wonder when Coral will show his face, or his fluke, this year and can’t wait to see what he gets up to.
Last year, Mars was seen near Long Island, which isn’t far from Jersey Shore, so it looks like her newborn is learning the traditional family route. In the ever-changing ocean environment, influences such as the availability of food will impact the route she takes.
Reflection has been showing her calf feeding areas around
Orca odysseys
By OrcaLab founders Helena Symonds and Paul Spong
Bend is busy raising a new baby
During autumn and winter, Bend’s family chooses to stay in the north and this past year they were seen near Prince Rupert and Ketchikan, Alaska. They normally leave the Johnstone Strait area in early September and don’t return until late June or early July.
Simoom knows where to be – and when
If stretched, the coastline of British Columbia is nearly 16,000 miles long, carved by deep inlets and countless bays and islands surrounded by strong currents and daily tides.
Each orca matriarch, like Simoom, has a deep understanding of how to navigate these tricky waters.
Simoom has to know where best to find food throughout the year. When prey is less abundant, she chooses her range carefully, favouring spots such as northern Haida Gwaii or the west coast of Vancouver Island that reward her with reliable winter prey.
When spring arrives and the Chinook salmon return, Simoom positions her family in the right locations to take advantage of this bounty. This encourages her to follow the fish migration, and by autumn we anticipate her return to this area.
Last year was an interesting exception as Bend’s immediate family did not come to Johnstone Strait at all. They were only seen once on the north coast and there was some concern about their wellbeing. But when they were seen near Ketchikan, we learned that
Bend has finally had another baby. Jameson, her first, is now 10 years old and is probably as excited as we are by the new addition to the family. We hope that as her baby grows stronger, Bend and her family will now be ready to return.
DID YOU KNOW?
In fish-eating orca societies, young orcas do not leave their mother’s side when they become adults. Many families consist of generations.several
DID YOU KNOW?
Adult members of orca families teach the younger orcas essential life skills, which one day they will pass on to their own offspring.
Holly has been on the move
Each year Holly explores a huge area of the coast. She typically spends most of her winter and sometimes even part of her summer in the Salish Sea. In 2023 she sailed through the Johnstone Strait area on her way south on 7 July. She finally returned in late August to
catch up with Scarlett, the Northern Residents’ oldest matriarch, before they left for the north coast together.
When winter loomed, Holly swam the entire length of the coast back to Georgia Strait (in the Salish Sea), going as far south as Howe Sound, just north of Vancouver.
Fife follows the fish
Dispersal of the Northern Residents during the lean late autumn and winter months is
With prey not as concentrated as during the spring migration, spreading out ensures families have a better chance of securing
Holly was joined by Fife’s family for a while, but the young pod male Mystery, who had been travelling with her family for about two years, disappeared. As spring approached, Holly ushered her family back north and was sighted near Prince Rupert on 27 March. What amazing journeys.
Recently, they have been using old travel routes again such as Fife Sound (Fife was named after this waterway), which they abandoned when damaging fish farm harassment devices were once deployed. It took a long time for Fife’s family to reclaim this important part of their range. Typically, as spring beckons, they are drawn back to the north. Here they wait to follow the return of the Chinook migration back to Johnstone Strait in early July, once again completing the annual cycle.
Each
orca matriarch
has a deep understanding of how to navigate tricky waters
Helena Symonds and Paul Spong
Dolphin diaries
By WDC’s adopt a dolphin field officer, Charlie Phillips
Spirit socialises with her family
I had a superb encounter with Spirit and her lively two-year-old. They were swimming north towards the Cromarty Firth in a big, mixed group. Both dolphins looked in great shape and were having fun with someone else’s youngster.
Suddenly I spotted Spriggan, Spirit’s six-year-old, travelling with Sprite, who turns 10 this summer. Then to top it off, 13-year-old Shimmer appeared with her five-year-old youngster. The only Spiritrelated dolphins who weren’t in this
DID YOU KNOW?
There are more than 1,000 bottlenose dolphins in captivity around the world. Please don’t support this cruelty when you’re on holiday. Read more on page10
remarkable family group were 17-year-old Sparkle and her eight-year-old; they haven’t been spotted in quite a while.
I’ve never seen so many related dolphins together in all my years of studying these amazing wild souls.
Indigo has been stealing the limelight
I have seen quite a lot of Indigo this season. He’s been plonking himself in front of my camera and I’m very grateful to him as he’s always wonderful to watch.
He’s often in the company of one or two other young lads and with Charlie every so often, but he does like being part of a big, mixed group every now and again.
On one occasion, he was with a large travelling pod of dolphins who were heading north, including Spirit and many of her kids. Indigo was with Shimmer, keeping her and her own youngster company and larking around as usual –the whole scene was one of happiness and good company, a joy to behold. I’ll remember that encounter for a long time to come.
Indigo’s big brother Prism has just arrived back in the Inner Firth for his summer holidays. When these two get together with some of the other blokes, it can be total dolphin mayhem.
TO SEE A VIDEO
DID YOU KNOW?
Dolphins experience emotions such as joy, grief, fear and excitement.
Rainbow is saving energy
I’m beginning to think that Rainbow is deliberately hiding from me. I’ve had very brief glimpses of her and young Sunshine near the Chanonry Narrows area. They’ve been spending most of their time in the Cromarty Firth, where my friends at Aberdeen University’s Lighthouse Field Station and the EcoVentures boat crew have seen them hunting together.
The big river that runs into the Cromarty Firth has had a good supply of migratory salmon over the past two months, and clever old Rainbow knows that she doesn’t need to waste energy travelling to find good food –she already has it on her doorstep. Rainbow’s sons Indigo and his older brother Prism are around too, maybe I’ll get to see them all together one day.
Charlie comes to say hello
After seeing Charlie in the distance down near Inverness with his big buddy Scoopy, I had to wait a while to encounter him again, but when I did it was terrific. He was with another pal called Clyde and they were fishing away up the Black Isle coastline beyond Eathie.
I’ve never seen so many related dolphins together in all my years of studying these amazing wild souls
Charlie came beside the boat I was on and looked right at us. He swam around us a few times, almost rubbing up against the boat hull. Then he drifted off back towards Clyde, who was surfing in a big swell of the sea. It was marvellous to see Charlie feeding well and with that cheeky twinkle in his eyes.
Charlie Phillips
Meet our team
Tina Lambert
Head of supporter relations and facilities management
What do you do at WDC?
I’m responsible for the management of the supporter relations team. We look after all aspects of supporter care, from answering your phone calls and emails to processing your generous donations and sending out your adoption packs and certificates. We manage our supporter database, so if you move house or increase your direct debit, it’s me or one of my team who will update your record. With my facilities management hat on, I oversee the operations and maintenance of our head office: Brookfield House in Wiltshire, UK. I also have the pleasure of recruiting and managing our brilliant community volunteers and volunteer speakers.
How did you get into this field?
After more than 20 years working in financial services, and a sabbatical, this role came up in my home town – it was my chance to do something more rewarding where I could help to make a change.
What do you love most about your job?
The variety that my role brings … and liaising with our supporters, listening to all the reasons why you donate to WDC. And, of course, my lovely team – they make me laugh.
Tell us about your best moment at WDC?
Seeing the belugas Little White and Little Grey finally arrive at the sanctuary in Iceland after being in captivity in China was momentous.
What’s your favourite thing about the ocean?
The freedom and escapism it can bring, and listening to the waves.
If you could have one wish granted for whales and dolphins, what would it be?
For them to own the ocean again, without fear or threat.
How do you relax?
Listening and singing to music, yoga, Pilates and a glass of prosecco. Preferably not all at the same time.
Dogs or cats?
Cats. They are great healers and bring calm and comfort. I love my boys, Floki and Larson (seen snoozing on the left). They are Bengal cross, very mischievous and lazy too.
TELL US ABOUT A SPECIES YOU ADMIRE OR FEEL A STRONG CONNECTION WITH?
Hector’s dolphins are only found around the coast of New Zealand
HeCTOr’S DOLPHin
I love this little dolphin. I didn’t know much about this species until we launched a campaign a few years ago. I just found them stunning to look at, quite perfect.
More than anything else, I was drawn to their distinct markings, as they are quite different to the bottlenose dolphins I was more familiar with. Their striking black, white and grey markings really make them stand out. Hector’s are one of the smallest and rarest dolphins in the world.
I was surprised to learn that this little dolphin could face extinction because of the threat of being caught in fishing nets. We’ve been working hard to keep them safe.
Tina is on team cat
