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Marine Wildlife
Jellyfish On The Rise As Ireland's Waters Warm
#Jellyfish - Jellyfish are coming to Ireland's shores in bigger numbers than ever before, as the Belfast Telegraph reports. The "worrying" finding comes with the latest figures of the annual Coastwatch survey of the island of Ireland that concluded in…
Dead Whale Explodes, Marine Biologist Escapes Flying Entrails
#whale – A marine biologist who attempted to cut open a dead Sperm Whale beached in the Faeroe islands last Tuesday (November 26) narrowly escaped being dosed in entrails when the poor dead creature exploded. A video clip, shown on Faroese…
Dolphin Diners Signal Intense Marine Mammal Activity
#MarineWildlife - The Irish Times has posted exclusive video of a dolphin pod enjoying the feeding bounty off Baltimore this week - just a sample of the intense marine wildlife activity around Ireland's coasts in recent days. Pádraig Whooley of…
Dead Minke Whales in Norfolk Follow Derry Stranding
#MarineWildlife - The carcass of a female common minke whale found on a beach in Norfolk on Monday marks the third such discovery on Britain's coasts in a week, as The Guardian reports. The grim discovery at Sea Palling follows…
Fungie Frolics With Friends Off Dingle In New Video
#MarineWildlife - Ireland's most famous resident dolphin appears to have made some friends, as the video above shows. TheJournal.ie reports that Fungie, who made Dingle his home 30 years ago after possibly escaping from a British dolphinarium, often shuns the…
Dead Minke Whale, Poorly Turtle Stranded On Irish Beaches
#MarineWildlife - BBC News reports on the sad story of a nine-metre long minke whale found dead on the beach at Magilligan Point in Derry. According to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group's (IWDG) Pádraig Whooley, minke whales have been…
UK Designates New Marine Conservation Zones
#MarineWildlife - The British government has announced the creation of 27 new marine conservation zones (MCZs) after a long delay, as BBC News reports. Last December it was decided that just 31 of the 127 potential sites for marine wildlife…
Arklow Lifeboat Volunteers Help Rescue Seals Trapped In Fishing Gear
#MarineWildlife - Arklow RNLI were involved in the rescue of two seals caught in fishing gear close to the lifeboat station. Volunteer crew at the Wicklow-based station were made aware yesterday afternoon (21 November) that the seals were apparently trapped…
First Look At Newly Discovered Undersea World Off Ireland
#MarineWildlife - TheJournal.ie has published the first image of an amazing undersea world discovered recently off the Irish coast. Afloat.ie reported over the summer on the discovery of exotic new marine wildlife in the Whittard Canyon on the Irish Atlantic…
Reprieve For NI Seal Sanctuary Amid Exploris Closure Threat
#MarineWildlife - Northern Ireland's Environment Minister has guaranteed the future of Northern Ireland's only seal sanctuary as the fate of its home at the Exploris aquarium hangs in the balance. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the aquarium in Portaferry, Co…
IWDG Can Make A Difference In Today FM's Donation Drive
#MarineWildlife - The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) is one of the many charities in the running for an award of up to €10,000 in Today FM's 1% Difference Campaign. The campaign is encouraging Irish people to give either…
Lough Neagh Loses Out As Migrating Birds Stay Put
#MarineWildlife - Lack of food has seen a severe decline in migrating birds visiting Lough Neagh for the winter, according to UTV News. Researchers from Queen's University Belfast have noted a shocking 75% drop in numbers of visiting water fowl…
SEAFARE Seville Seminar Highlights the Potential of Wetlands Aquaculture
The SEAFARE (Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Aquaculture for the Atlantic Region of Europe) project held a one-day seminar at Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera (IFAPA)'s headquarters in Seville (Spain) on the 30th October 2013 as part of…
Dolphin Swim An Unforgettable Experience For NI Kids
#DolphinSwim - Two children with disabilities from Northern Ireland recently enjoyed the trip of a lifetime to Florida where they got to swim with some friendly dolphins. As the News Letter reports, 14-year-olds Ryan Shannon from Belfast and Michael Bowes…
Brothers Come To Rescue Of Stranded Seal Pup
#MarineWildlife - A stranded baby seal rescued by three brothers on the Dingle Peninsula was one of five washed up around the Irish coast during the stormy bank holiday weekend, as the Irish Independent reports. Fifteen-year-olds Marwin and Leon O'Sullivan…
Whale and Dolphin Strandings Reach 'Record High' Says IWDG
#MarineWildlife - The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has expressed its dismay at the continued rise in whale, dolphin and porpoise strandings around Ireland in 2013. "The question was whether the numbers for 2012 were just a temporary ‘blip’…

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!