Dolphin Spotting on the Dunbar Castle II....

Last week was an eventful week for the Sea Watch Volunteers! On Tuesday, we had our very first line transect survey of the season on the Dunbar Castle II. Despite some choppy seas and rainy weather we had a very successful survey. We gathered lots of useful data and in total sighted 13 dolphins, including 3 calves which caused a photographing frenzy! Two of the dolphins spotted included Bond and Chris, both of whom are old friends of Sea Watch and members of the Adopt a Dolphin scheme.

Later in the week Hanna, a former member of the Sea Watch Foundation, gave a very interesting talk on the C-CATS Project, in which she is now involved. C-CATS or the Cardigan bay Cetacean Acoustic Tracking Study is a unique approach to acoustic monitoring that will be the first of it's kind to be conducted. Hanna is part of an interdisciplinary team of research scientists working in collaboration with the German Oceanographic museum and the University of Wales, Bangor, to conduct a unique acoustic cetacean monitoring project utilising both passive acoustic monitoring systems and a mobile hydrophone array to track cetacean movements through the water column. This project will be conducted in the waters off target rock, New Quay over the next few months. 

For more information on the C-CATS project or to follow the C-CAT blog, check out: http://www.ccats-ccats.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Sea Watch Team

The Beginning, Sea Watch 2012…

The start of the season is upon us, and the new Sea Watch volunteers are in training!

           

Luckily (for this time of year!) the weather has been good so far, with minimal rain meaning Cardigan Bay is looking rather beautiful in the spring sunshine. Training has been underway; learning how the office works, about surveying techniques, and of course the all important land watches, where Sea Watch volunteers perch on the harbour wall scanning the bay for marine mammals, in particular the bottlenose dolphin. My first land watch, I have to say was a little chilly and sadly unsuccessful in spotting any marine mammals. However, second time round the volunteers spotted 4 bottlenose dolphins, including one calf! The volunteers held out in the last 5 minutes of the watch, despite the rain to ensure the data was viable. Fingers crossed they appear on my next land watch!

           

So what’s planned for the rest of the season I hear you ask….? Well hopefully this summer will see some sunshine and bring lots of dolphins to Cardigan Bay! Sea Watch volunteers will be hanging around on New Quay’s sea wall marine mammal watching and answering any questions you might have, as well as participating in boat surveys collecting bottlenose dolphin data. This years National Whale and Dolphin Watch Campaign will be the 27-29^th July, as part of this, Sea Watch will be providing lots of information, games and activities on the New Quay pier!

Sea Watch Team