No sign of whale activity ending any time soon.
18 February 2010
Report 8 Update 17/02/10.The humpback whale known to IWDG as #HBIRL11 or locally as "Hook" was seen as recently as yesterday 16/02/10 by Liam Colfer of Hook Lighthouse within a mile of Hook Head. It was seen breach 10 times within a half hour period.
Today, 17/02/10 upwards of 3 fin whales were reported by Joe Molloy and Paddy Roche within outer Waterford harbour, feeding between Ardnamullet Head and Red Head. This is an exceptional record, although not without precedent. But to have the 2nd largest creature on the planet (up to 20m+) feeding in as little as 17m of water, gives us an interesting insight into their feeding ecology. During an RNLI exercise last night, herring could be seen as far as the eye could see (under lights) jumping clear of the water, suggesting there is still plenty of food for the fin whales and humpback (HBIRL11). Long may it last.
Watch the amazing footage on YouTube!
Report 7 Update 09/02/10.The humpback whale and up to 3-4 fin whales are still present off Hook Head and can be seen from land about 2 miles south of Slane and also from the Waterford coast from Dunmore Head. Enjoy !
Report 6 Update 05/02/10.Amid increased concern and complaints received by the IWDG about harrassment of the humpback whale by boats, the IWDG have mobilised their 6m RIB "Muc Mhara" for Saturday. The IWDG/GMIT team will be supporting the NPWS who wish to establish a presence on the water and will be visting boats out watching the whale to remind them of their legal obligations regarding harrassment. It is an offence under the Wildlife Act and Marine Notice 15 of 2005 to deliberately disturb whales and dolphins and we hope all boat users will respect this simple request to allow evertyone to enjoy watching one of natures amazing creatures.
Simon Berrow
Report 5 Update 02/02/10.The humpback whale remains inshore off Baginbun Head area and was once again very active, with several breaching displays observed yesterday 01/02/10 by Martin Colfer. Skipper Brendan Glody of MV Keltoi Warrior informs us that the whale was seen in the area this morning 2nd Feb. So with all the herring evident in the area (see photos below) it doesn't seem to be in any hurry to leave these happy hunting grounds.
IWDG continue to receive a steady stream of reports of boats "harrassing" the whale. Ironically, most of these reports are from people who were out on boats. It should be pointed out that every vessel actively whale watching has the potential to disturb whales. Even boats which stick rigidly to the strictest of guidelines, by their engine noise alone are contributing to "noise pollution" for these acoustic mammals. There are volumes of published work from around the world that show that poorly regulated whale watching represents a potential conservation threat to local whale populations.
IWDG isn't interested in naming and shaming individuals or boat owners, and so will refrain from publishing some of the disgraceful images which have been sent to us. But you know who you are, and so do we.
So what can you do? Well, the obvious thing is to watch from the cliffs. It's free, you won't get sea sick, you can leave when you want, and most importantly your activity is having zero impact on the whale.
If you do decide to take a boat trip, don't be afraid to articulate to your skipper any concerns you may have about how your boat is behaving around the whale. The chances are that your skipper will appreciate the feedback. Tell him/her you are too close if you are closer than 100m, tell him you have spent too long with the whale if you have spent much more than 30 minutes watching the same animal, tell him if you feel the whale has had to change course to avoid a collision as a result of your boat not maintaining a parallel course, tell him to slow down if you are creating a "wake" off your stern.
The onus is on your skipper to ensure the whale is not being harrassed and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) point out that ..."deliberate disturbance is an offence under sections 23 of both Habitats Regulations and the Wildlife Act." We all have a collective responbsibility to ensure that #HBIRL11 or "Hook" returns to these herring spawning grounds in the years ahead, so even more people can enjoy his annual visits.
This is a great opportunity to learn from mistakes elsewhere, and to ensure that the south east coast can offer potentially world class whale watching at this time of year. Let's not shoot the goose that lays the golden egg.
Pádraig Whooley ,IWDG Sightings Co-ordinator.
Report 4 Update 31/01/10.
It seems anyone passionate about whales and whale watching, and an army of birders and wildlife enthusiasts made the journey to the south east to either Hook Head or Baginbun Head to watch some simply amazing large whale activity over the weekend. The focus for those who may have previously seen fin whales was no doubt the humpback whale which in the past week has been spending much of its time close inshore to the Baginbun area.
There seemed to be quite a bit of tail-fluking today, but most interesting were the reports supported by simply stunning photos of an enourmous "herring ball" of no less than 50m diameter which was pushed to the surface at around 13:00 today 31st Jan. The images and observations from Paddy Roche and others on the MV Rebecca C, decribe the vessel being enveloped in this surface cauldron of broiling herring. When this happened the humpback was actually outside the immediate slick, and it is unclear whether it was "bubble-netting" or deploying some other strategy for forcing the herring to the surface in such a dramatic manner.
If anyone reading this works in fisheries, Marine Institute, SFPA or BIM, we'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this spectacle.
Fin whales were also present between Hook and Baginbun and on occasion both species were seen in close proximity.
IWDG have received several reports from concerned whale watchers that there were simply too many boats, getting too close and spending too long with the whale. Again, IWDG would re-iterate that humpback whales are protected from "wilful intereference" by Irish and International law. Marine Notice 15 is not a "voluntary guideline", and is enforceable by law. So we'd ask people who want to see this humpback to consider watching it from the cliffs, where you can enjoy the spectacle without impacting on the whale. If you insist on taking your boat out, please read on.......
Marine Notice 15 of 2005 "GUIDELINES FOR CORRECT PROCEDURES WHEN ENCOUNTERING WHALES AND DOLPHINS IN IRISH COASTAL WATERS" was issused by the Marine Safety Directorate. It is supported by a Statutory Instrument and is legally binding. All commercial and recreational operators are requested to read the notice summarised below and adopt these procedures.
We all want to ensure the whale stays off Wexford for as long as possible and returns over the coming years. The best way to achieve this is to avoid any excessive disturbance and respect the whale and its feeding requirements.
The following guidelines are intended to offer best practice to be followed in cases of any interaction between small craft and large mammals within Irish waters:
• When whales or dolphins are first encountered, craft should maintain a steady course.• Boat speed should be maintained below 7 knots.
• Do not attempt to pursue whales or dolphins encountered.
• In the case of dolphins, they will very often approach craft and may engage in “bow riding”. Always allow dolphins approach a boat rather than attempt to go after them.
• Maintain a distance of at least 100m from whales.
• Maintain a distance of 200m between any other boats in the vicinity.
• Attempt to steer a course parallel to the direction whales or dolphins are taking.
• Do not corral whales or dolphins between boats.
• Special care must be taken when young calves are seen - do not come between a mother and her calf.
• Successive boats must follow the same course.
• Boats should not spend more than 30 minutes with whales or dolphins.
• DO NOT attempt to swim with them.
Craft that do encounter any species are encouraged to log all sightings and to advise the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) or officers of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which is a division of the Department of Environment Heritage, and Local Government.
The full notice is available on the website: www.iwdg.ie/downloads.asp
Report 3 Update 29/01/10.Our phones and email remain very busy with a steady flow of calls from members of the public asking about the whereabouts of the Wexford humpback whale, and whether we are organising more trips. As a wildlife charity we wouldn't possibly have the resources to field every such query and for this reason we have a policy of keeping our website as up to date as possible with the very latest sightings and strandings related news stories.
If you'd like to support our conservation work we'd suggest taking out membership in IWDG, as we keep IWDG members well-informed on what's happening around the country, and give all members first refusal on courses, outings, overseas trips and research cruises as and when they arise. All you need do is click on the membership banner on our home page.
Finally, our man on the ground, or should I say up on the cliffs, Paddy Roche, reports that the humpback whale is still very much in the area just south of Baginbun Head, Hook Peninsula today (29th Jan). At 15:15 Paddy observed it breach twice clear of the water, in similar style to that seen on RTE News this week. So it would be nice if it remained in the area for the weekend, giving people a chance to view one of the planet's most charasmatic marine mammals.
As it remains close inshore, we'd encourage people to watch from land, where you can watch it safe in the knowledge that you are not disturbing it. There is considerable potential for disturbance of this animal if there are a lot of boats visiting the area, and we'd draw people's attention to the Dept. of Marine Notice regarding boats and whales on the previous article.
Having sent Photo ID images of this new Irish humpback whale to colleagues in College of the Atlantic, Maine, USA for matching with the North Atlantic Humpback whale database, Peter Stevick confirmed last night that this is indeed a previously unrecorded humpback whale for the North Atlantic, and it will be allocated a unique reference which in effect increases the North Atlantic humpback whale population by one.
Pádraig Whooley ,IWDG Sightings Co-ordinator.
Report 2 Update 27/01/10.
We are pleased to report that the Humpback whale who is now at the centre of an international media focus is still feeding in the waters off the Hook Peninsula, Co. Wexford. Yesterday, 26/01/10 IWDG personnel monitored the whale for much of the day from a safe distance on the MV Rebecca C.
Initially, it was seen in the same area about 2 miles south of Hook Head lighthouse, but as the day drew on it travelled slowly to the east, where it was last seen off Baginbun Head about 7 miles to the east of Hook Head. On one occasion it was seen "bubblenetting", something which we also observed HBIRL10 doing in late September off Dingle Bay.
If the humpback remains in this area, our suggestion would be watch this whale from the Martello Tower Near Baginbun Head. You will need at least a decent pair of binoculars to watch it feeding on the last remaining herring shoals in the area. We'll endeavour to keep you posted over the coming days, but it's hard to know how favourable the weather will be for sightings.
Report I 25/01/10.Since New Year’s Eve the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) have been receiving regular reports from local whale watchers of large whale activity in the waters around Hook Head and the Dunmore East at the mouth of Waterford Harbour. On Friday 22nd January, IWDG chartered local Duncannon based skipper Martin Colfer and his boat the MV Rebecca C to investigate further. Over the following three days researchers identified no less than four cetacean (whale and dolphin) species in the waters surrounding the Hook Peninsula, comprising: harbour porpoises, common dolphins, humpback whale and fin whales.
Over the three days research all sightings and associated data were logged and photo identification studies were carried out on all whales found. The humpback whale, thought to be a sub-adult male, was successfully biopsied by Dr. Simon Berrow, IWDG under licence from National Parks and Wildlife Service, and information from the retrieved "blubber" sample will be used for genetics analyses and will put the matter of its gender beyond doubt. Acoustic "play back" trials were successfully carried out on several pods of common dolphins by personnel from GMIT & BIM. This multi- disciplinary approach to whale research is essential to improve our understanding of the ecology, distribution and habitat requirements of the whales that return each year to the productive waters along the Irish South coast.
The humpback whale, perhaps not surprisingly being nick named "Hook" was seen on each of the three days, and on Sun 24th was within half a kilometre of Hook lighthouse, in clear view of the crowds of whale watchers, enjoying the spectacle.
Analysis of the images obtained of the humpback whale’s tail fluke (see top photo) which were secured on both Friday and Saturday confirm this to be a new humpback, not previously recorded in Irish waters. This exciting discovery brings the number of humpback whales documented in Irish waters to eleven, with many of these re-sighted on an annual basis. The high re-sighting rate illustrates just how small the Irish humpback whale population is, reflecting the fact that only quite recently scientists thought humpback whales were close to global extinction, after centuries of commercial whaling. This ongoing research is a crucial tool in monitoring what IWDG believe is a slow, but steady recovery of this charismatic whale species.
This new Irish humpback whale has been allocated a number, #HBIRL11 and images of its tail-fluke will be sent to colleagues in College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbour, Maine, USA for matching with the North Atlantic Humpback whale database which contains an extensive catalogue of over 5,000 individually recognisable humpbacks. To date all Irish humpback whale images sent to the catalogue have shown these to be new whales, previously un-recorded in any North Atlantic waters.
So although Ireland is contributing low numbers of humpback whales to this pan-Atlantic catalogue, it is a very significant contribution from the North East Atlantic waters. Ireland is one of the few EU countries systematically recording humpback whales and contributing images to this catalogue, which shows the relative importance of our inshore waters along the Irish South coast for both fin and humpback whales.
RTE 6 o'clock news broadcast can be seen by clicking on link below and then scrolling through menu on right of page.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0126/6news_av.html?2688854,null,230
Also present on two of the three days were the larger fin whales (pic above), and on Sunday we encountered two groups, totalling 5 animals, which were once again with viewing range of Hook Head (with optics).Our man on ground Paddy Roche, reports that both the humpback and at least 4-5 fin whales were also present today, Mon. 25th Jan.
So our advice for anyone with an interest in wildlife and whale watching in particular is to head for the South East, and Hook Head area of Wexford or East Waterford. But don't wait too long, as we are informed that the herring, which attract the whales to this traditional winter spawning ground, have now spawned. This will herald the dispersal of both prey and predators, and we'll almost certainly lose contact with these giants in the coming weeks, until their return in early summer.
IWDG have applied for a licence from National Parks & Wildlife Service to satellite tag fin whales, but as of yet no licence has been issued. And so the mystery remains as to where they go once they leave our inshore waters in February. This basic information is important if we are to provide meaningful conservation measures that will safeguard the return of these highly mobile marine mammals to our shores year after year.The very latest updates news on whales and dolphins in Irish waters can be found on www.iwdg.ie. IWDG would like to extend a big thanks to Martin Colfer of South Coast Charter Angling www.charterangling.ie for allowing us use his fantastic boat as a research platform. Who knows perhaps the sunny south east will some day
challenge West Cork, as one of Europe's premier "whale watching" destinations.
You can follow the Irish Humpback catalogue on the following link http://www.iwdg.ie/iscope/sightings/photoID.asp?species=2103
Pádraig Whooley ,IWDG Sightings Co-ordinator.
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