Outer Moray Firth Survey

The Moray Firth in Scotland is one of the most important areas in the UK for marine mammals.  Its most famous inhabitants are a resident population of bottlenose dolphins but other cetaceans, including the harbour porpoise, minke whale and common dolphin use the Firth on a regular basis.  
 
Through our work at the Spey Bay Wildlife Centre and North Kessock Dolphin and Seal Centre, WDCS has a responsibility to ensure that relevant, up to date and accurate information is available in order to try and protect all cetaceans that use these waters and to empower the local community to be able to make informed decisions about how the marine environment on their doorstep is used and developed.   
 
Much of the cetaceans research undertaken thus far has either focused entirely on the bottlenose dolphins or has been restricted to coastal areas.  Little is known about the other cetaceans that frequent the outer and offshore areas of the Moray Firth.  In light of increasing industrial and recreational activity in these areas, WDCS has highlighted the fact that a major problem in conserving and adequately caring for these animals remains a lack of detailed knowledge about how they use the outer Firth.  
 
To this end in June 2005, 2006 and 2007, WDCS conducted preliminary, boat-based surveys of part of the outer Moray Firth and determined that this part of the Firth is potentially critically important for a number of different cetacean species, notably minke whales, harbour porpoises, and offshore dolphin species.  In 2008, with funding support from the BBC Wildlife Fund, the study was expanded to consider how this area might be used differently across the seasons; surveys were conducted in February, May, August, and November.  
 
During each survey, the research vessel covered approximately 400-500 km of water covering pre-set routes so that the results are comparable between seasons. The survey teams are made up of WDCS staff, Wildlife Centre volunteers, and members of the local community who receive training in survey techniques.  Observers conduct continuous visual scans and collect information about all whales, dolphins, and seals that are encountered. An array of hydrophones (underwater microphones) enables the survey team to identify the calls of dolphins and porpoises in real time and to collect a simultaneous set of realtime acoustic observations.

In February 2009, the BBC Wildlife Fund made a further grant towards our research and we will be continuing our work in the area and discovering more about the animals that inhabit the waters of the Firth in the coming months.

Read the report on our findings in 2008

Listen to sounds made by common dolphins recorded on our hydrophones: 

June 2006 (mp3 file, 4.2mb)
August 2008 (mp3 file, 1.1mb)

Watch our slide show of images from the survey

Further information:

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