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ALL THE OMENS for Whale Watch day were positive leading up to yesterday’s nationwide event — but organisers are describing it as a ‘washout’ this afternoon.
Poor weather over much of the country meant some of the events had to be cancelled.
Some 1,500 people still turned out at viewing stations around the coast however — and, according to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, between 50 and 60 per cent would have seen some whale (or dolphin) based maritime activity.
“That’s not to say they would have seen Humpbacks breaching or anything like that, but they would have seen Harbour Porpoises or other common species,” says IWDG co-ordinator Pádraig Whooley.
“It’s all about educating people about the kinds of species you can see from land, all over the country.”
Whale Watch Day is organised every year to raise awareness of the 24 species of cetaceans (porpoises, dolphins and whales) that have been recorded around the Irish coast.
In addition to its educational angle, it also provides researchers with a unique snapshot of activity around the entire Irish coast.
IWDG members man stations in locations as varied as Bloody Foreland in Donegal to the Cork and Kerry coasts, Hook Head in Wexford and Howth in Dublin, and act as guides for volunteer whale-spotters.
Results are then logged and collated by the group, with the findings giving their researchers a year-on-year picture of what’s happening in Irish waters.
The IWDG said there had been record numbers of sightings of some species in the lead-up to yesterday’s event, including fin whales in West Cork and humpback whales off Kerry.
Pádraig Whooley, IWDG
Whooley said the IWDG was still collating the results of yesterday afternoon’s event.
The Humpback Whales pictured here were photographed as part of a collaboration between the group and the BBC’s Natural History Unit, off Kerry, last week.
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Shh don’t tell the Japanese whalers that.
Whale wars part 2
Jake
whales in the sea – good ,
whales in coppers – bad
Them’s are the whales I was refering too.
Its great to see that there still are whales out the alot of them get killed every year by the Japanese. Intelliged mammals
Not so intelligent, they haven’t worked out how to avoid Japanese whaling ships yet. If they were smarter they would.
15.000 whales are killed each year to give people their tuna. The Japanese say they are killing them for “research” but they were outed a few years ago when they mistakenly said it was for food. Well hopefully the Russians will keep one of the Japanese ship’s so that they cant do this years seasons killing in December.
Don’t kid yourself Ellie, if a whale ever got the chance he’d eat you and everyone you love!
We have enough whales here already..
Call me Ishmael.
The Japanese are hunting Whale for centuries, they are a renewable food source, lump it or like it(I personally don’t like the idea I will say but..) they are just another mammal that humans have and do still eat and hunt, if you have a problem with it and eat fish and meat your a total hypocrite, shocked by imagery only, do you think that chicken your eating had a nice life in the wild where it bred and was free? It could barely move in the disgusting cage all its life! I feel more sorry for the tasty chickens. Also the Japanese people and their culture has a huge respect the sea and the whale more than anybody on this earth, they revere the animal and the sea that has given them life. Once it’s regulated sustainable hunting for a plenty full species, which it is regardless how horrible it looks, I have no problem with it besides the fact it doesn’t look nice for me, in the west, without a recent whaling dependency, or history of hunting and eating them.
have your say