A Significant Step for Marine Protection This week marked an important step forward for marine protection in Ireland, with the publication of the Heads of the Maritime Area Planning (Marine Protected Areas) (Amendment) Bill 2026. The long-awaited Bill represents a significant milestone in Ireland’s efforts to better protect its marine environment. It outlines the proposed
In mid May we asked the question…” where have all our humpbacks gone?” See article https://iwdg.ie/where-have-all-our-humpbacks-gone/ and it seemed like a reasonable question at the time, given their tardiness this season. But they were always going to show up somewhere eventually and of course pretty much the same afternoon we posted the article, we learned
On 3 June 2026, the Fair Seas World Ocean Week Conference returned to Cork City Hall, bringing together ocean advocates, policymakers, scientists, coastal communities, fishing industry representatives and environmental NGOs to discuss the future of marine protection in Ireland. As a partner of the Fair Seas coalition, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group attended the
As the first humpback (#102) appears in Donegal Bay for the third out of the last four years and its fifth year IWDG have recorded this individual in Ireland since 2020, a new publication which embraces the value of citizen science and the IWDG WhaleTrack Ireland project is out. As part of his PhD Dr
As part of the Atlantic Whale Deal, it is my job to identify surveys that have a high chance of encountering large whales. These surveys would greatly improve our chances of capturing footage of the cetaceans and their blows on the Sea.AI Sentry thermal camera. So far we had mainly joined the Irish RV Celtic
The IWDG were successful in our funding application to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) for the continuation of the Deep Diving & Rare Species Investigation Programme (DDRIP) for a further three years. Since the beginning of the project’s second phase, four animals have been examined under DDRIP, including Ireland’s first recorded narwhal, third recorded Gervais’ beaked whale,
Ireland has experienced a large number of “solitary” dolphins over the years from Fungi to Dony, Finn to Dusty. Some have left while some are still in pockets around the Irish coast. This is an international phenomena and the reasons why individuals may not be part of a wider social dolphin group and become exposed
I had mixed feelings as I was driving to Myross Woods House this June bank holiday weekend to deliver our recent IWDG Residential Weekend Whale Watching Course at CECAS ; and it wasn’t just the poor weather outlook. This was our 9th and unfortunately to be our last such course at CECAS since our first
IWDG report on Whale Watch Ireland 2026 On Saturday 23rd May the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) delivered another Whale Watch Ireland event. All Ireland Whale Watch day, now in its 24th year, comprises free, guided land-based whale watches, which this year was planned for and delivered at 18 sites in 14 coastal
Team members of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group travelled to Dundee, Scotland, in April for the 37th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, one of Europe’s key gatherings for marine mammal researchers, conservation practitioners, students, policy specialists and stranding experts, reuniting over 800 people. Held from 20–24 April 2026, this year’s conference theme