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Support our UK dolphins
It’s a little appreciated fact that you really do not need to go to Florida to see dolphins. Around 13 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises live or regularly visit the UK coast.
A campaign has been launched by the marine research and conservation charity Sea Watch Foundation to raise funds for further research to help protect and conserve whales and dolphins around the UK coast.
BBC wildlife presenter Kate Humble is backing Sea Watch’s new “Adopt A Dolphin” campaign and you can find out all about it on www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/adoptadolphin,
Under the scheme people can adopt six wild bottlenose dolphins from Cardigan Bay, off the west coast of Wales – and will receive regular updates on their sightings.
Funds raised by the adoption scheme will go to support further research by Sea Watch into British whales, dolphins and porpoises and how they are affected by factors such as marine pollution and rising sea temperatures.
Kate said: “Dolphins and whales around the world face threats from hunting, pollution, accidental capture in fishing gear, over-fishing and climate change. By supporting Sea Watch, we can all help to raise awareness of the challenges they face and support further research into understanding our complex marine environment.”
The Cardigan Bay dolphins are one of only two resident groups of dolphins in the UK and are the subject of long-term research by Sea Watch. The charity’s marine biologists have had funding from the Countryside Council for Wales to carry out line-transect and photo-ID studies to assess dolphin numbers and identify the areas they frequent. They are also working on an acoustic monitoring project using underwater detectors to record the signals used by dolphins and porpoises for echo-location.
Funds raised will also help additional projects, including:
- surveys of the bottlenose dolphin population further offshore in the Irish Sea and in northern Cardigan Bay, north of the present Special Area of Conservation;
- winter surveys over the region to determine status and distribution of the population between October and March;
- studies of the feeding ecology of the species using echo sounder surveys of fish distribution, underwater filming, and small-scale trawl sampling. This is a major area of investigation that has yet to be started but is clearly crucial to understanding the ecological requirements of the local dolphin population.
 Dr Peter Evans is the scientific director of Sea Watch. He has worked on cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) for over 30 years, advises government bodies on cetacean matters and oversees the UK National Cetacean Sightings Scheme. He said: “The Adopt A Dolphin scheme will help us to conduct further research, particularly in West Wales, northern Scotland and the Hebrides – all important areas for cetaceans.”
“The status and abundance of dolphins and other marine mammals is a valuable indicator of the health of our seas, but securing funding for monitoring projects is increasingly difficult. People who support Adopt A Dolphin will be making a valuable contribution by helping us to collect the information needed to underpin future conservation programmes.”
Everyone who adopts a dolphin for £3.50 a month will receive an Adopters Pack from Sea Watch containing a fluffy dolphin soft toy, an adoption certificate, booklet, stickers, a poster, CD, access to an interactive map on the Sea Watch website to track the positions of the Cardigan Bay dolphins, a computer screensaver and other items. They will also be sent monthly “Dolphin Diary” e-mails with news about their dolphin.
For information about Sea Watch’s Adopt a Dolphin campaign see www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/adoptadolphin, e-mail info@adoptadolphhin.org.uk or phone 0845 2023892.
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