From porpoises to pizza parties, sea eagles to seals; our Young Ambassadors had a trip to remember!
This Autumn, we piloted a new opportunity - inviting young ambassadors from other conservation organisations to experience life on board our research vessel, Silurian.
We were thrilled to welcome representatives from RSPB Youth Council, Marine Conservation Society and Young Sea Changers Scotland aboard, to come together and take part in the first trip of its kind for HWDT.
Every year, we set sail across Scotland’s west coast, inviting passionate individuals to join us in safeguarding marine life. By collecting vital data, these hands-on voyages are helping to deepen the understanding of species and drive real change to protect the marine mammals of Scotland’s seas.
After initial introductions, our first day started well with common dolphins in Tobermory harbour, including some juveniles. A rainbow perfectly framed the town as we set sail to begin monitoring efforts. Down the Sound of Mull, it wasn’t long before our first “sighting” was called in, the first of many harbour porpoises. The calm conditions and amazing focus of our young people on effort helped spot these elusive creatures. We even had our first volunteer climb the crow’s nest!
Day two brought rougher seas, but high spirits as we handed over the boat phone for our young ambassador social media take-over! Despite conditions making sightings more challenging, the group enjoyed developing their sea bird ID knowledge and hearing dolphin whistles through the hydrophone. The day was topped off with more rainbows, a chilly dip in the sea for some and the much-anticipated pizza party!
Over three days at sea, our young people surveyed 175km, with 13 harbour porpoise sightings of 37 individuals, 3 common dolphin sightings of 12 individuals as well as one unidentified dolphin sighting and 13 separate seal sightings. We also spotted an otter and one white-tailed eagle!
Many of the young people on this trip plan to forge careers within the marine conservation sector, and thanks to funding from ScottishPower Foundation, this experience has helped them to develop real skills and connections . Here’s what some of team had to say about their time on board…
“As a young conservationist, I am surrounded with apocalyptic messages of depleting wildlife with no solution. This leads myself and many others to grow fearful and depressed, as we are completely defenceless in a collapsing world. I am proud to say this trip pushes these thoughts away...”
“This experience will definitely give me a leg up but most importantly it has given me contacts that may help me in the future...The Silurian and crew do a great job at welcoming their teams and keeping science and conservation accessible. I got to see everything that was promised and I will definitely be back! ”
“You guys did amazing, thank you so much for this opportunity, I’m really grateful for this. See you next time!”
On our way back to Tobermory, the highlight again had to be our harbour porpoise sightings. Typically, harbour porpoises can be seen surfacing in their characteristic rolling motion, showing just back and dorsal fin. This trip, however, we were treated to fast swimming behaviours, with photos revealing a much larger portion of body out of the water, right down to the paler colour of the belly. This area is known for tidal changes leading to rich feeding grounds and is likely the reason for this less common behaviour display. Data from HWDT informed the designation of The Inner Hebrides and the Minches Special Area of Conservation to protect harbour porpoise but ongoing monitoring through surveying on board Silurian within these areas is essential to provide information on populations and potential threats, helping to ensure continued protection for these animals.
Survey tracklines from Youth Trip 3. Pink lines show visual and acoustic effort, green lines show visual-only effort, and blue lines show acoustic-only effort.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR TEAM OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS WHO JOINED THIS EXPEDITION: SOPHIA, BRODIE, MCKENZIE, BEN, CORI AND ANNA
