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+
Humpback whales found in Irish waters are known to travel in a north-south direction along the eastern North Atlantic, but one individual has unexpectedly been discoverd over 3,300 km nearly due west. On Jan 17th 2010, a humpback whale was observed and reported to the Irish Whale and Dolphin
IEN Meeting with the Joint Committee on Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023 Date: 02/02/23 Time: 09:30 – 12:30 The 3rd Joint Oireachtas Committee pre-legislative scrutiny meeting on the General Scheme for Ireland’s MPA Bill 2022 took place on Thursday the 2nd of February. The IWDG, along with coalition partners, has identified a number of issues
The waters between Loop Head, Co. Clare and Kenmare Bay, Co. Kerry, are highly biodiverse. Identified as an area of interest for Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation by Fair Seas in the recent report ‘Revitalising our Seas’, it is no surprise but still a great honour that the global organisation Mission Blue led by Dr
A large swathe of ocean off the south west coast of Ireland has been added to a list of ‘Hope Spots’ by a global marine conservation movement. Mission Blue is led by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle and now has a network of 148 Hope Spots across the globe. It aims to inspire public awareness,
The most common baleen whale in the world and the one most commonly harpooned by whalers is the one to which we have given the least attention. Because we seem to think anything we do cannot impact minke numbers, which of course is not true. Apart from whaling minke whales face an increasing threat from fishing,
Tarmon, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo 26th January 2023 A particularly difficult stranding occurred at Tarmon, Blacksod, Co. Mayo (a live stranding hotspot), on Sunday the 22nd of January. A robust female striped dolphin was live-stranded and preyed upon by gulls before being found by a member of the public. Unfortunately, her injuries were too severe and
The Shannon Dolphin Project (SDP) is offering several volunteer internships positions during the 2023 field season. The internship runs from May – September 2023 and the minimum duration for successful applicants is 10 weeks. Background: The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) is a registered charity and NGO in the West of Ireland. The group have been
Backstrand, Derrynane Beach Co Kerry Friday, 13th January 2023 An adult female Cuvier’s beaked whale stranded at the backstrand of Derrynane Beach on Friday 13th January. She was relatively fresh and her carcass was moved by a local with a digger from the beach’s channel onto the Lamb’s Head side of the bay above the high tide mark
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Groups education and outreach programme were kick-started this year at the first international ocean education and training conference in Gent, Belgium. Hosted by Ghent University Museum and organised by Ghent University, Sorbonne Université, Universitá Politecnica Delle Marche and the Atlantic Technological University. The conference focused on five leading themes central