Whale Tales 2020 – Distinguished Contributor awards

Distinguished Contributors Awards 2020 is a series of annual awards which acknowledges those who have made a significant contribution to the work of the IWDG.

The recipient of the DCA from the IWDG for Cetacean sighting scheme is Ann Trimble .

IWDG Sighting’s Officer Pádraig Whooley who nominated Ann says:

“based on her dedication to carrying out land- based effort watches, primarily from Ram Head, Ardmore, Co. Waterford over the past 16 years. Ann and her partner Andrew first appeared on our radar as potential trouble makers when they joined one of our early Whale Watching weekend courses on Cape Clear Island back in 2004 and since then she has carried out 100’s of watches, contributing significantly to our understanding of how large whales use Celtic Sea coastal waters later in the season”.
Congratulations and thank you Ann

The recipient of the DCA from the IWDG Cetacean Stranding Scheme is Claire Scott.

Outgoing IWDG Strandings Officer, Mick O’Connell who nominated Claire says:

“It’s difficult to choose one among a selection of stalwarts in the strandings network but this year I would like to nominate Clare Scott in Tramore, Co. Waterford. For many years now, Clare has been willing to check out local cetacean strandings around her ‘patch’ and always sends on clear concise info with great photos and the occasional (and much appreciated) bit of humour!”

Congratulations and thank you Claire.

The recipient of the DCA from the IWDG for work done on the R.V. Celtic Mist is Mick O’Meara.

Selected by the IWDG Celtic Mist Committee, chair Fiacc O’Brolchain said

“In this strange year Mick kept the show on the road, as he always does. His way of working is quiet and efficient. He motivates the team to take on the dirtiest work, often leading by example. Mick is the lynch pin that keeps Celtic Mist together. I believe that the project would be a lot more difficult without him”.
Thank you so much Mick and to all the other volunteers this year.

The recipient of the DCA from the IWDG for Best use of IWDG Data is Kim Ellen Ludwig.