Whale Tales 2020 was slightly different this year. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we, unfortunately, could not meet in person. However, with a small team from the IWDG office in Kilrush, we were lucky enough to utilise Purecamping’s beautiful yoga studio converting it temporarily into a fully functioning broadcasting hub.
Delivering Whale Tales via an online live broadcast was no easy feat. Still, with a lot of planning and hard work, we are delighted to say we successfully shared stories from our members, officers and international colleagues on some of the work IWDG is currently working on.
IWDG would like to thank Inis our sponsors, Purecamping in Clare and of course our lovely members and supporters who joined us live on the day from all over the world. If you missed the broad live stream, don’t worry, you can catch up on all of the sessions right here on our website.
Session 1: Sightings and Strandings review from 2020
Joined in studio with Padraig Whooley, IWDG sightings officer and News and updates from past and present Strandings Officers Mick O’Connell and Stephanie Levesque.
Session 2: Deeper look at strandings
Joined by international colleagues Lonneke Ijsseldijk and Joy Reidenberg in this session we learn about all the ins and outs of a stranding event from why this could be happening, what we can learn and gain from doing whale necropsies, what’s involved in the mammoth task of performing a whale necropsy and how Ireland could improve its stranding response through our large whale stranding protocol.
Session 3: Research
Joined by researchers Lindsey Jones from Allied Whale and Mags Daly from the Shannon Dolphin project as well as stories from member Nick Massett and IWDG officers in this session we discuss the progress of the WhaleTrack project and IWDG’s longest running monitoring project in the Shannon Estuary.
Session 4: Looking forward
Trea Heapes and Sibéal Regan discuss exciting education and outreach plans for 2021 and hear from members on their experiences and encounters with marine mammals. If you want to get more involved with the IWDG but are unsure of how to go about it this might be the session for you…