Dr Stephen Comerford joined the IWDG in May as a Marine Policy Officer. This comes at a time of unprecedented pressures on our marine waters, especially inshore with a multitude of policies being developed which will have far reaching and profound effects on our marine environment. The IWDG have been bombarded with formal consultations on
The Shannon Dolphin Project developed fast after finally kicking off in 1993, after a year’s delay. In 1995, Dolphinwatch Carriagaholt, started advertising dolphin-watching trips following a couple of years testing the water. Geoff Magee was still fishing in the estuary, and had to wash down the decks of his lobster potting vessel Fiona David and ready
Important Marine Mammal Areas Workshop for the North East Atlantic This week in Hamburg the IWDG attended in person (Patrick Lyne) and online (Simon Berrow) the Important Marine Mammals Area (IMMA) workshop for the North East Atlantic in Hamburg, Germany. The workshop was organised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and
Ciara Morrin, a marine scientist from Galway, Ireland joined us onboard Celtic Mist for the first cruise of the 2023. Here she tells us about her experience onboard: I arrived in Poolbeg early on Sunday, 12th May and was greeted by Lucia, the first mate, who had walked out to meet me. Together, we boarded
As part of our celebrations of 30 years of the Shannon Dolphin Project we are repeating surveys we carried out in 1993 when we started our journey. In 1993 we carried out two “Minimum Number Estimates” which involved co-ordinated watches from all around the estuary to record and count al dolphins seen. Full scans of
FAIR SEAS TO HOST LANDMARK CONFERENCE ON WORLD OCEAN DAY Cork event to bring together ocean advocates, global experts, key stakeholders, government and industry. An ocean economist, who won the prestigious 2023 Tyler Prize for the Environment Award, has been announced as the keynote speaker for the inaugural Fair Seas World Ocean Day Conference next
FAIR SEAS NAMED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHAMPION Coalition pledges to show how people can help make the world a better place during its term Fair Seas has been named a champion in Ireland’s efforts to become a world leader in reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The coalition of leading environmental non-governmental organisations and
“we normally pick the dolphins up around here” said skipper Joe Aston as we steamed west of Kilcredaun Head in the Shannon Estuary. Seconds later two large, adult bottlenose dolphins came to the bow of the White Bank a 50ft gillnetter which was heading for a week’s fishing west of Loop Head. A few minutes
The IWDG Cetacean Stranding Scheme has received a total of 122 reports between January and March of this year. The year 2021 was a peak year for strandings, with 200 animals reported during the same time period. Factors which may have contributed to 2021 being a peak year overall were the lockdowns which occurred as
We made our way to the South-West this year for Whale Tales 2023 to the beautiful and secluded location in CECAS, Leap, West Cork. The weekend was jam-packed with talks, discussions and interactive sessions from members of the IWDG team and invited speaks. CECAS was a wonderful venue with enough space to cater for 80+