The IWDG would like to clarify our opinion on recent whale strandings of deep-diving whale species. Currently the IWDG cannot call this a UME – an Unusual Mortality Event. It is important to report all stranded cetaceans to the IWDG so we can identify any unusual trends. Deep-diving species, such as Cuvier’s beaked and sperm
‘Fair Seas’ campaign demanding fifteen-fold increase in Ireland’s Marine Protected Areas The IWDG are delighted to be part of the Fair Seas MPA campaign launched today. We are joining leading national environmental groups to launch a new campaign to rapidly expand Marine Protected Areas in Irish Waters. The Fair Seas campaign is calling for at
The IWDG made two requests to government in relation to planned and ongoing military Russian exercises outside the EEZ. we received no acknowledgment of either letter nor evidence that our concerns were raised. This is disappointing. we present both letters here to keep interested parties abreast of our efforts to protect Irish whales and dolphins
The IWDG support the recent call by the ISWFO and the IFPEA for a 10 year moratorium on military exercises within the Irish EEZ. The IWDG support fishers right to work without feeling threatened by military exercises, additionally such a moratorium would also greatly reduce the threat these exercises pose to whales and dolphins. While
Article by Dave Wall, Conservation Officer with the IWDG Between August and September 2018 more than 70 dead Cuvier’s and Sowerby’s beaked whales and Northern Bottlenose whales, washed ashore on the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Scotland. All of the animals were in an advanced state of decomposition, indicating they had died offshore and spent
The IWDG has written to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, to express concern over the potential impact on whales and dolphins of the proposed military exercise off southwest Ireland. Military exercises, especially when using active sonar, are known to have a potentially huge impact on marine mammals, especially deep-diving species. There have been
IWDG is very sad to hear of the passing of Don Cotton. Don was press-ganged into being the Chair of the IWDG when it was formed in December 1990. He brought instant credibility to our new group and ensured we maintained high scientific values and ambitions from the very start. Although Don was an
Citizen Science has been recognised over the past few decades as an important medium between scientists and the public, and has been used as a cost-effective tool to collect data through broad-scale surveys. With its ability to increase the quantity and spatial extent of cetacean observations, it has been considered as vital for marine mammal
On Sunday 14th November, IWDG received an online sighting report of what at a glance seemed like a fairly ordinary sighting of a pair of harbour porpoises; a species that are regularly seen and reported to IWDG off Clogher Head, Co. Louth. However, the report got a whole lot more interested on reading the comment
IWDG data has been used in a large study to explore the changes in the abundance and distribution of common dolphin in the Bay of Biscay. Using a large collaborative dataset of 1728 sightings of common dolphin collected during 21 different surveys including data from IWDG Ship Surveys, senior author Amaia Astarloa from the AZTI