This 2019 annual review was published over the summer while we were on furlough but we are sharing it now in case you missed it the first time around. Returning to work has given us the chance to look at wider WDC work with fresh eyes and we are so impressed with everything that our colleagues achieve.  

Is the recent increase in humpback whale sightings in the Firth of Forth driven by a wider population recovery in the North Atlantic?  By changes in prey distribution or abundance?  By increased effort in watching and sharing encounters?  The report attached below looks at the sudden seasonal occurrence of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae within the Firth of Forth, Scotland using data collected by the Forth Marine Mammal Project who lead the watching from the Kinghorn Shorewatch site.

Our latest publication is out!  With the help of Dr. Caroline Weir, we have used a combination of photo-identification data and Shorewatch data to demonstrate the importance of the proposed MPA of east Lewis for Risso's dolphins.  Shorewatch data helped to prove that Risso's are present year-round and that calves are present in these waters in the spring and summer months.  Photo-ID has shown us that individuals return to the area through a given year and across many years within the study; this is known as site fidelity.  Read the attached pdf for the full story!