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Displaying items by tag: Whales & Dolphins

5th June 2017

RV Celtic Mist: Whale & Dolphin Research Ketch 'Open' During Dublin Riverfest

#HelpCetaceans - From the fast and furious ThunderCats to the more serious side of marine wildlife as the Irish Whale & Dolphin ketch is part of the Dublin Riverfest which concludes this afternoon, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As previously reported on Afloat, the IW&DG’s research vessel, the RV Celtic Mist is open to the public from among the visiting tallships. The 56ft steel hulled ketch is berthed in the Grand Canal Dock Basin. It is refreshing to see that the ketch has occupied a berth at this location to spread the maritime festival beyond the Liffey quays.

Celtic Mist with a port of registry in the capital is berthed in the dock basin close to the Plaza opposite the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. The ketch in recent years was donated by the family of the late Charles J. Haughey.

The former Taoiseach having declared Ireland as a whale and dolphin sanctuary in 1991, however the IW&DG are appealing for donations and corporate sponsorship to ensure the financial sustainability of running the ketch within the next three years. They require €20,000-30,000 to operate the costs of the ketch based on an annual basis.

Afloat took the opportunity to board the handsome looking French built ketch dating to 1974 and now carrying out important research on cetaceans. The work by the IW&DG is invaluable, given the all-Ireland group is dedicated to the conservation and better understanding of whales, dolphins and porpoises.

This involves Celtic Mist undertaking cruises to monitor species off our shores and by returning such data that leads to further studies, education and interpretation. These cruises (up to eight persons) carry out sighting of cetaceans and involves co-ordination schemes when species are stranded.

In addition to the role of Celtic Mist, assistance in carrying out sightings involves ferry and aerial surveys with the collaboration of the Air Corps Maritime Squadron. The combination of all such data is to help monitor the status of whales and dolphins in Ireland and to inform policy and implementation of action plans.

For more on the work of the IW&DG and how to become a member if you are to sail on the RV Celtic Mist, visit their website here.

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8th October 2015

BBC Wildlife Presenter Delighted by Results of First ORCA OceanWatch Week

#Whales&Dolphins - The first ever ORCA OceanWatch Week saw crews’ record sightings of whales, dolphins and porpoises on commercial ships, ferries and naval vessels leaving Portsmouth and other UK ports.

Those involved had been trained by experts at ORCA, the Portsmouth based whale, dolphin and porpoise conservation charity, who have collated hundreds of reports from dozens of vessels.

Afloat.ie adds that the ORCA survey included ferries from the Isle of Man Steam Packet's Douglas-Heysham route and Brittany Ferries Cork-Roscoff service.

ORCA has just released the figures, which exceeded the charity’s expectations. Nearly 2,000 individual cetaceans, the name given to whales, dolphins and porpoises, were spotted during OceanWatch, the first monitoring event of its kind.

Well known BBC TV wildlife presenter Chris Packham, who is a Patron of ORCA, has been at the Hampshire port to meet the team and discuss the outcome of the survey. Chris said, “It's a fantastic result and great to see so many organisations working together on such an important issue. ORCA will now be able to create an even more authoritative map, showing where these amazing creatures are living, and helping to protect them in the future. Now let's aim to double those sightings in 2016!”

Chris Packham was at Portsmouth International Port to join one of Brittany Ferries’ popular whale watching mini cruises to Spain. The ferry operator was a major contributor to ORCA OceanWatch Week, with its vessels crisscrossing the Bay of Biscay, one of the world’s hotspots for whales and dolphins.

Martin Putman, Port Manager, was on hand to welcome the popular presenter back to the UK ferryport. He said, “We were delighted to host the launch of ORCA OceanWatch, and it’s great to hear that the charity has been able to gather so much important information. It’s a tribute to their hard work, and the determination of the crews who have gone to great lengths to accurately record the sightings.”

The common dolphin was the most frequently seen cetacean, with 50 sightings, totalling 747 individuals. Highlights of the survey included four blue whales seen in the Bay of Biscay from the Cunard Queen Elizabeth (a visitor off Dun Laoghaire Harbour in 2013) and 750 pilot whales seen in one day in Arctic Waters on board the Saga Pearl II.

271 sightings of cetaceans totalling 1,939 individual animals were reported during ORCA OceanWatch. These reports included 16 different species of cetacean; harbour porpoise, common dolphin, striped dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, Rissos dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, pilot whale, minke whale, Sei whale, fin whale, humpback whale, blue whale, sperm whale, Cuvier's beaked whale and northern bottlenose whale.

The surveys were recorded in the following seven sea regions: Arctic Waters, Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast, Celtic Sea, English Channel, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Wider Atlantic Ocean.

The full 2015 ORCA OceanWatch will be available to view on the ORCA website soon: www.orcaweb.org.uk/get-involved/OceanWatch

As above in the YouTube footage is Nigel Marven at the launch of the event held at the port in July.

Published in Marine Wildlife
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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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