Scientists at the Sea Watch Foundation are looking for marine mammal enthusiasts in Cornwall who want to help to collect records of whales, dolphins and porpoises, and become involved in their marine conservation work.

The foundation has monitored whales, dolphins and porpoises in British and Irish waters for more than 40 years with the help of volunteer citizen scientists who have reported presence, location and numbers of cetaceans from around the country.

For the past 16 years this has been spearheaded through an annual national recording event, the National Whale and Dolphin Watch (NWDW).

The event this year is taking place from Saturday, July 28, until Sunday, August 5, and it marks the long-lasting collaboration between citizen scientists, wildlife enthusiasts, the public and researchers alike.  

‘With all sightings and effort data recorded during this year’s National Whale and Dolphin Watch event, we will be able to build detailed information of the species, distribution and numbers of cetaceans around the UK coast, and learn more about their population and conservation status,’ said Dr Chiara Giulia Bertulli, sightings officer at the foundation.

‘All you need to bring with you is patience, a lot of enthusiasm, binoculars, and sightings forms and a cetacean identification guide (downloadable from the Sea Watch website). We are suggesting people conduct their land watches for a minimum of one hour and work in groups to take turns during data collection.’

Find out more about the event at www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/nwdw

Since the beginning of the year, a group of kayakers has had a close encounter with a minke whale when a few miles off Looe island and a trio of Risso’s dolphins were observed at Porthpean beach.