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Hundreds Brave The Elements For 'Washout' Whale Watch Ireland

25th August 2014
Hundreds Brave The Elements For 'Washout' Whale Watch Ireland

#MarineWildlife - Though the weekend's miserable wintry weather made this year's Whale Watch Ireland something of a 'washout', according to TheJournal.ie, for those who did turn out there was a good chance of seeing some of our bountiful marine wildlife in action.

Despite a number of the 20 organised events being cancelled, it's thought that some 1,500 people still braved the elements on Sunday afternoon (24 August) and had more than a 50 per cent chance of seeing a whale, dolphin or porpoise off Ireland's coast.

Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) sightings officer Pádraig Whooley says the results of this year's nationwide whale watch are still being collated.

But it's already on record that Ireland is one of the vest places on earth for the pastime.

As the Sunday Independent reports, the numbers of humpback whales visiting our waters are estimated at nearly 300 out of a global population of 80,000, following a record summer for sightings off Ireland.

And as previously reported on Afloat.ie, Ireland is now considered "one of the best locations in the northern hemisphere" to film cetaceans in action.

Published in Marine Wildlife
MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!