Scotland’s west coast seas are a vitally important area for minke whales – with some of these spectacular but vulnerable marine mammals notching up Europe’s longest sighting histories of almost 30 years, research by the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust shows.
Read MoreIt’s been an exciting year for sightings across the west coast of Scotland. It’s been a particularly busy year for sightings of the West Coast Community members, John Coe and Aquarius. Between February and October 2022, the famous pair have been Photo ID’d across a total of 33 days, with their location ranging from the Hebrides, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Photo credit: EmmaJane-HebridesCruises
Read MoreAlthough rare, humpback whales are now being sighted with increasing regularity in Scottish waters - with the 100th whale documented this year. They are known to migrate through Scottish waters between their feeding and breeding grounds. Find out how citizen scientists are deepening the understanding of these awesome creatures
Read MoreOrca Watch is running this week, a ten-day event coordinated by the Seawatch Foundation. With land based watches taking place all around Caithness, North Sutherland, Orkney and Shetland, enthusiastic citizen scientists will be keen to catch a glimpse of these apex predators. But it’s not all black and white when it comes to killer whale populations in Scottish seas
Read MoreWe’re off!! The summer field season (April - October) on board our research vessel, Silurian, has started. Despite battling challenging conditions, the team on board remained steadfast. Hannah, our scientist who led the data collection on board, shares the expedition update
Read MoreOur winter survey programme on board Silurian has been running since 2019, learning more about the year-round presence of marine mammals and basking sharks in Hebridean seas. These surveys are important given that prior to the start of the programme, little winter data existed for the region. Science Officer, Jenny, gives an update on the last winter survey of this year…
Read MoreCraig Mackie gives us an update on the first winter expedition of 2021, where a couple of ‘summer visitors’ were recorded. The winter survey programme, funded by Nature Scot, is helping us improve our year-round understanding of Hebridean marine environment
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