Moray Firth latest

Where did January go? The first day of the month I was out watching for cetaceans but I had to wait until the first week of 2008 before sighting harbour porpoise and bottlenose dolphins, off Burghead and Fort George. Aberdeen sightings were also pretty low but reports regularly came in of dolphins being seen off Dundee, so perhaps the feeding was better in that area for the animals. Towards the middle of the month, sightings slightly increased but we also had various strandings including two Sowerby’s beaked whales at Chanonry Point, one of which was very young and a sperm whale down at Fife.

I have been kept busy also keeping a close eye on the developments relating to the exploration for oil and gas in the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation. This could dramatically impact the resident bottlenose dolphin population that live here in the Firth so we have been busy raising awareness of this issue by having local people write to their newspapers and involving the local radio stations too – so far we have had a good response.

January saw some snow flakes but we seem to have escaped the blizzards, however it’s not the first time we have had snow in the region at Easter and with that being in March this year, who knows what the children will be rolling their eggs in! The Marine Connection no doubt will have another busy year ahead, but with your support the charity will continue carrying out its vital work in protecting all dolphins, worldwide.

Happy new year to you all and wishing you a great 2008.