On April 15th we received a report of a large group of c.25 bottlenose dolphins off Barleycove beach in West Cork by Siobhan O’ Driscoll. As this report came with a suite of images, it didn’t require much by way of validation and was duly processed and entered onto www.iwdg.ie. Two days later we received
On Saturday 18th May, IWDG in association with Inis, invite you to Whale Watch Ireland 2024 between 5:00-7:00 PM. This annual event, now in its 22nd year, comprises free and guided whale watches at local headlands and vantage points, as part of All-Ireland whale watch day. This year’s event is being held earlier than usual in
Yesterday we received one of many sighting reports of basking sharks that have been sent to us by recorders and public alike since the shark season kick started off Cleggan- Inisboffin back on Feb. 19th. This record however by Ina Krüger, of a pair of sharks she saw feeding near Purteen on Achill Island was
The IWDG Position And A Call For Submissions The controversial practice of pair trawling by large boats for sprat and other forage fish in our bays and inshore waters may now at last be managed in a way which would conserve the stocks for whales, dolphins, fish and birds, and also give a welcome boost
NPWS adds new protection for cetacean species. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and Fair Seas received notice this week from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that new cetacean measures have been added to existing Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), with harbor porpoise and bottlenose dolphins added as Qualifying Interests to
Every few weeks we receive a sighting report which makes its way as an entry into my diary under the heading…. “Standout Sightings ”. On Wednesday 27th March, I added another. The reason for its inclusion needs a little explaining, as there is nothing that unusual these days about a common dolphin sighting off the
The IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force is pleased to announce today the creation of six new Important Marine Mammal Areas, called IMMAs, which include Irish waters and three additional Areas of Interest (AoI). The newly approved IMMAs represent the final result of a full-year process, including an intensive week-long scientific workshop assessing and
Some of you could be forgiven for forgetting what a basking shark looks like, that is assuming your name isn’t Pat Concannon, who runs the ferry service out of Cleggan to Inisboffin. Pat had the good fortune to see one this Mon. 19th February. But this wasn’t just another basking shark sighting record, it’s way
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D. launched an important public consultation this week on trawling inside the 6 nautical mile limit and the baselines in Irish waters. The measures proposed will rectify the imbalance in access to fish stocks experienced by the inshore fleet, and help manage the uncontrolled exploitation of
Venue: CECAS, Centre of Excellence for Climate Action & Sustainability Where: Myross Wood House, Leap, Co. Cork, P81 Y192 Dates: May 24-26th or September 20-22nd, 2024 This May sees IWDG return to the fabulous CECAS Ctr. in Leap, West Cork for a 3rd Summer Series of weekend courses. Looking for a weekend with