On Saturday, the 19th of August, we celebrated the National Heritage Week theme of passing down knowledge and skills through generation through our “Be a marine biologist for a day,” which took place at the Shannon Dolphin Center in Kilrush, Co. Clare. Beginning the day with an introduction to cetaceans, IWDG scientists explained the differences
Our scientific programme on Celtic Mist is still in full force, with leg 11 (already!) sailing from Fenit to Dingle. Our fantastic crew enjoyed sightings of marine mammals, such as common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, many grey seals around the Blasket Islands, and even a minke whale in Dingle bay. We also had sightings of breaching
After the last few weeks of surveying focusing on collecting data on the resident Shannon bottlenose dolphin population, our scientific programme shifted gears this week. We surveyed nearby the Shannon estuary and spent our nights in Fenit marina as the forecast was too uncertain to anchor safely overnight. We had various kinds of weather during
After persistent winds which battered the south coast over the past month Celtic Mist finally set sail last week on a new adventure. This week marked the start of the Shannon Dolphin Project surveys. These surveys concentrate on collecting data on the Shannon dolphins, a genetically discrete population, resident of the Shannon Estuary. But first
The world is suffering a climate crisis unique in human history with drought, wildfires, disrupted weather patterns and extremes of temperature on land and at sea. This situation is becoming much worse over time and the reason for it is clear. Burning fossil fuels has released vast quantities of CO2 which acts as a greenhouse
The Shannon Dolphin Project has been running for 30 years, barely three dolphin generations. However. we have gained some knowledge on their movements and use of the estuary, identified important foraging areas, documented calving rates, adult and calf survival and understand a little about their social structure. This work has shown the estuary is a
The fin whale stranded near Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry was visited by IWDG Strandings Officer Stephanie Levesque under the Deep Diving and Rare species Investigation Programme (DDRIP). DDRIP was initiated by the IWDG in 2022 in response to a well-documented increase in recent years in cetacean stranding records reported through the IWDG Stranding scheme. These include
After 2000, and the designation of the Shannon Estuary as a Special Area of Conservation for bottlenose dolphins, the Shannon Dolphin Project settled down. Dolphin-watching had become well established with the launch of two purpose-built dolphin-watching boats. Following the SAC designation, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) based a Conservation Ranger in west Clare
Week number 3 of our new scientific programme on the Celtic Mist was, like the previous ones, unique and fantastic. Even if our first sailing day was rough, we were fortunate enough to spot a basking shark as our first sighting of the week, thanks to curious juveniles gannets circling above (birds are always
Looking for a weekend with a difference? Why not join the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) www.iwdg.ie, Ireland’s leading marine conservation NGO, on a weekend whale-watching course in West Cork during summer 2023. By taking part you will also be actively supporting whale and dolphin conservation and research in Ireland. Our 2023 residential weekends