The North East Cetacean Project

Dr Martin S. Kitching

North East Regional Officer MARINElife

Background to the NECP

• Regular pelagic trips into the North Sea since 1998 (NTBC trips since 1987)

• White-beaked Dolphins found in 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

• MARINElife project in Lyme Bay

Why study White-beaked Dolphins?

• European Protected Species (Annexe IV, Habitats Directive)

• Favourable Conservation Status assessed every 6 years

• SCANS (1994) estimated 7856 for North Sea and Channel

• SCANS II (2005) estimated central/northern North Sea population as 10,562

• 2007 – ‘Favourable with no significant future threats’

• However...

Do we really know how many White-beaked Dolphins there are?

• Large confidence intervals in abundance estimates

• Local studies and wider distribution data suggest range contraction

• Vulnerable to climate change (rising sea temperature), habitat degradation, bycatch, overfishing of prey species, acoustic pollution, biocontamination

Survey method

• 3/4 observers (leader/photographer, cetaceans/effort data, ESAS, scribe)

• Effort data; position, heading, sea state, swell height, wind speed/direction, precipitation

• …it isn’t easy to write ‘heavy snow’ when you’re in a white-out

Survey Work

• 6 boat-based surveys carried out during winter 2009/10, severely hampered by the weather

• Regular transect surveys on PV St Oswald in 2011/12/13, occasionally hampered by the weather

• Transect surveys of the Farne Deeps in August 2012 and March/April 2013

Transect design 2009/10

Transect surveys 2009/10

Farne Deeps transects 2012/13

Survey effort 2009-2013

Harbour Porpoise

• Most frequently recorded cetacean 2003-2009, 341 sightings

• Under-reported due to regular presence around the Farne Islands and Druridge Bay

• Sightings seem to be on a steep downslide at Whitburn

Harbour Porpoise ©Adrian Shephard

Casual sightings 2003-2009 (NECP database)

Sightings from boat surveys

Bottlenose Dolphin

• Second most frequently recorded cetacean 2003-2009, 133 sightings

• First recorded in north east England 1966 • 10 records prior to 2000

Bottlenose Dolphin ©Adrian Shephard

Casual sightings 2003-2009 (NECP database)

Minke Whale

• Third most frequently recorded cetacean 2003-2009; 53 sightings, 69 animals

A wanderer?

• Outer Hebrides,

May 2008

• Dunstanburgh,

September 2008

Casual sightings 2003-2009 (NECP database)

Relative sightings rate by month – casual sightings 2003-2009

00.05

0.10.15

0.20.25

0.30.35

0.4M

arch

Apr

il

May

June July

Aug

ust

Sep

tem

ber

Oct

ober

Nov

embe

r

Minke whale

White-beaked Dolphin

• Fourth most frequently recorded cetacean 2003-2009, 43 sightings 279 animals

Casual sightings 2003-2009 (NECP database)

Relative sightings rate 2003-2009 – casual sightings

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8 20

03

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

White - beaked dolphin

Relative sightings rate 2003-2009 – Farne Islands

0

0.020.04

0.06

0.08

0.10.12

0.14

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

White-beaked dolphin

Sightings during transect surveys 2010-2013 (excl. Mar/Apr ’13)

Farne Deeps sightings Mar/Apr 2013

Casual sightings 2010-2013

White-beaked Dolphin abundance 2010-2013 (all data)

Photo-Identification

Blyth, 29/07/11 St Mary’s Island 26/07/13

Risso’s Dolphin

• Fifth most frequently recorded cetacean 2003-2009, 6 sightings of 20 animals

• 13 sightings in total for north east England • First English east coast record was as

recent as 1996 • Calves seen near the Farne Islands in

2006 and 2007 • Recorded on NECP transect survey

October 2013

Casual sightings 2003-2009 (NECP database)

Common Dolphin

• 6 records of 16-19 animals 2003-2009; July/August 2004 (Cullercoats), July 2009 (Tynemouth), February 2010 (Farne Deeps), March 2010 (Farne Deeps)

• 2 animals 1nm E of Beadnell June 2013, 2 animals south past Tynemouth July 2013

Common Dolphin ©Adrian Shephard

Sightings during boat surveys

Killer Whale

• 4 records of 5 animals 2003-2009; November 2004 (Tynemouth), September 2005 (Tynemouth), December 2006 (Hartlepool), August 2008 (Druridge Bay)

• Only 17 additional records for north east England from 1863-2012

• Recorded from pelagic trip off Boulmer August 2013

• This doesn’t tally well with anecdotal ‘evidence’ available by a quick search of the internet…

Orca ©Adrian Shephard

Casual sightings 2003-2009 (NECP database)

Long-finned Pilot Whale

• 2 sightings 2003-2009, March 2007 (Blyth) and March 2009 (Cresswell)

• May occur regularly in the North Sea • Pod of 63 killed at Shoreston, 29/07/1734 • Three records of live strandings 1991-

2002

Humpback Whale

• 4 sightings 2003-2009; 07/09/06 (Hartlepool), 07/09/09 (Lindisfarne), 13/09/09 (Longstone, Farne Islands), 19/09/09 (Newton Point)

• Whitburn 01/01/11, Whitburn 06-07/08/11, Whitburn and Cresswell 03/08/13

Sperm Whale

• 2 sightings 2003-2009; 2004 (Farne Islands), 03/04/08 (Whitburn)

• Tideline corpse Beadnell, January 2010 • One feeding with Gannets 2miles E of

Cresswell 31/05/12

Striped Dolphin

• Live stranded calf at Whitley Bay, April 2006

• Strandings also at Blyth (October 1991), Seaburn (December 1999), Dunstanburgh (April 2003)

White-sided Dolphin

• 1 sighting 2003-2009, July 2007 (Sunderland)

• 5 tideline corpses between 1990-1994; Amble (December 1990), Beadnell Bay (2, September 1993), Old Law (July 1994), St Mary’s Island (April 1994)

Sei Whale

• One record, June 2009 (Cresswell) • One stranded Amble, February 1912 • One stranded, Druridge Bay, September

2012

The stuff of dreams... • Beluga – South Shields 1903, Hadston 1988, Co.

Durham late ‘80s/early ‘90s • Northern Bottle-nosed Whale – Hartley 1744, River Tyne

1857, Blyth 1914, Seal Sands 1958 • Fin Whale – Holy Island 1810, 1831, Amble 1915 • Bowhead Whale – Tynemouth 1532, Newbiggin 1869 • False Killer Whale – Berwick upon Tweed 1935, Beal

1935 • Sowerby’s Beaked Whale – West Hartlepool 1940,

Whitburn 1978, Holy Island 2006

The future

• Completion of the Northumberland White-beaked Dolphin photo-ID catalogue

• New collaborative projects • Marine Mammal and Seabird Surveyor

Training Courses with the Wildlife Trusts • Further surveys of the Farne Deeps

Acknowledgements • Natural England, Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club,

National Trust, Northumberland Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, North Sea Wildlife Trusts, Berwickshire and North Northumberland EMS, ORCA

• Dr Colin McLeod, University of Aberdeen • Dr Tom Brereton, MARINElife • Rob Deaville, CSIP • Allan Skinner/SarahJFK • Dennis Harrison/Shokwave • William Shiel/Glad Tidings • The NECP volunteers • All of you for listening