Manx Whale & Dolphin Watch Online Diary - May Report

April had never been better, warm with settled calm seas – but will it hold?

The first week of May was glorious and was dedicated to recruiting and training volunteers on survey procedures and protocols as well as an introduction to the survey boat – ‘Hot Totty’.

Here she is, afloat in Douglas Marina, moored at the top end by Clinch’s Restaurant and opposite the ‘Manx Marine’ chandlery. She is a 31 foot former Police vessel, foam-filled and unsinkable – my sort of boat. She is really stable, rides wonderfully and fast enough to get out and home as quickly as you like.

Hot Totty

With an elevated fly-bridge at the rear for the primary observers and a separate fore-deck for the independent observer, she’s a boat ideally suited to the task.

Every survey requires a team of observers, made up of local volunteers and some marine mammal biologists.

The Isle of Man is proving to be a really special and undiscovered treasure-house of cetacean activity and has drawn dedicated researchers to the Island.

These include Eleanor and Tom, seen here, who have relocated to Mann and started a new life in Peel, in order to be at the forefront of our whale and dolphin future. Eleanor specializes in photo ID and Tom has years of experience in cetacean surveying.

Photo ID is a really important tool to establish and monitor cetacean populations, especially important in a world of climatic change and ever increasing threats to the very existence of these rare and endangered species.

Through surveying and the creation of a number of ID catalogues of different species we hope to be able to provide essential information and data necessary for the conservation and protection of our visiting and resident cetaceans.

Tom and Eleanor in Peel - their new home

As well as Tom and Eleanor, the team is joined by Sharon and Simon.

Sharon has come to the Island to establish a photo ID catalogue of the Risso’s dolphins – a rare and important species which regularly visits our waters. Less well known than the flamboyant Bottlenose, the even more exciting Risso’s dolphin has thrilled observers all along the East coast for the last couple of months.

Sharon plans to return each season to build a comprehensive ID catalogue of all the individual Risso’s dolphins – if you have good ID photos, Sharon would really like to see them. Sharon is sponsored by the Mammal Trust.

Simon is another trained marine biologist specializing in marine mammals, his interests include not only cetaceans but he has work on the social interaction of Grey seals, another important species, common around Mann and one that the surveys will monitor as we steam around Manx territorial waters.

Sharon and Simon

I am the fifth member of the survey team. I started life as a physicist and somehow, through various twists and turns, ended up living on the west coast of Mann and finding myself surrounded by Basking sharks, whales and dolphins.

I began working with the Sea Watch Foundation, the primary research and monitoring organization for whales and dolphins around the UK. In 2006, in collaboration with the Sea Watch Foundation, the Manx Wildlife Trust and with the tremendous support of DAFF’s Wildlife and Conservation Division and their Marine Conservation Officer, Fiona Gell, I started the Manx Whale + Dolphin Watch.

This is me looking like I might have just missed seeing a whale

Galps

The last man of the ‘permanent’ team is skipper Robin Gerrard, ‘Robin-the-boat’, seen here with his boat - ‘Hot Totty’. She and Robin are MCA Cat 2 Certified for operating out to 60 nautical miles from a safe haven. Although we can only survey when the sea is calm, it’s a comforting thought to know that the boat is fit for far worse seas than we are!

'Robin-the-boat' and 'Hot Totty'

So that’s the team of ‘permanent’ observers and together with 2 or 3 from the trained group of 40 volunteers, we plan to spend the summer months afloat, surveying the seas around Mann – with grateful thanks to the generous support of the DOTL and DAFF.

Well, May started wonderfully – just up until the first survey was scheduled – and then everything went pear-shaped.

Still we sorted out all the training, we have all the observers trained and ready to go and we have undertaken our first survey, which started well. However an unscheduled change to the weather meant the final surveys of May had to be abandoned.

Once the TT is about completed, we will begin the surveys anew, and seize every opportunity to record the whales and dolphins around Mann. Please keep an eye on the website, especially the ‘News’ section for updates throughout the season.

The second training course is on Friday 15th June at Knockaloe, Patrick, beginning at 19:30 hours. If you want to take part in the surveys throughout the season and have not yet been trained, then please come along.