Last winter survey of the season ends on a high

With the boat back in Tobermory we prepared for the last winter survey of the season. We finally had some settled weather and the early morning sun shone down as we made our way down the pontoons. Once on board, we had a quick cup of tea/ coffee to set us up for the day, before reviewing the safety procedures on board. All of the volunteers that joined us had taken part in a training day to learn all about the marine mammals in our waters and how we record our visual and acoustic data. We refreshed this knowledge and practised calling distancing, before discussing the plan for the days ahead.

We set sail with the sun still shining, passing Ardmore point before heading south, surveying the waters between Coll and North Mull. There was only a slight swell and we felt incredibly lucky, as we dusted off our sunglasses and located the sunscreen. However, the settled weather wasn’t predicted to last and the wind began to pick up as the sailed into our anchorage for the night at Ulva.

That evening we went ashore to stretch our legs and explore some rock pools. We were joined by a very curious grey seal who surfaced periodically, coming closer and closer for a better look. The next day we returned north, entering back into the Sound of Mull, this time surveying the waters around Ardamurchan point. By now the winds had really started to pick up and we decided to take shelter in Loch Sunart where we spotted several groups of harbour porpoise and common seals. The wind howled all night but luckily Emma had chosen a great spot and we spent the evening playing games and hearing everyone’s stories about the best wildlife they had seen. The next day the wind continued to blow and we nipped over the sound back to the safety of Tobermory!

During the survey we covered 91.2 nautical miles, recording over 14 hours of acoustic data, with our citizen scientists spending over 14 hours on effort.

Track lines from the March winter survey

All of the volunteers on board did a phenomenal job, we couldn’t collect this new and vital data without you! Thank you to Chris, Joe, Liz, Marie-Louise, Ronnie and Sara- you were amazing!

Thanks also to Scottish Natural Heritage who help fund the data collection programme aboard Silurian.

Feeling inspired to get involved with our marine conservation efforts? Keep up to date with opportunities to join us for our summer season 2020/21 for your chance to contribute to our research and encounter some of the cetaceans we have in our waters!