National Whale and Dolphin Watch Week
This year's National Whale and Dolphin Watch will take place between 7th and 15th of August 2010. Members of the public are once again invited to take part, either by helping trained observers or by sending in sightings. This is an opportunity for everyone to become involved in the research which goes into understanding these magnificent creatures. The event is the ninth consecutive annual watch. The results of the watch provide a snapshot of the distribution of whales, dolphins and porpoises around the British Isles and are helping inform scientific debate on any change in the range and distribution of species.
Why take part
All the sightings during the week help build up a picture of the distribution of species in the summer and the results are helping to inform our scientific understanding of the behaviour of the whales, dolphins and porpoises off our coastline.
How to take part
- To take part in National Whale and Dolphin Watch Week 2010 you can to visit one of the many Manned Watch Sites that are being planned across the entire coast line of England, Wales, Scotland and the Channel Islands. These sites will be manned by members of Sea Watch Foundation's Groups and volunteers who will welcome your help scanning the seas and will be able to help you identify any sightings.
- If you are out and about, at sea or by the coast sailing, fishing, diving, hiking or just walking you dog - keep a look out for any wildlife at sea and report and record any sightings of whales, dolphins and porpoises that you may have.
- You can take participate in sea-based watches by joining whale and dolphin watching trips organised by approved boat operators around the country. Some operators will run dedicated survey trips; others will offer you a special deal if you take recording forms with you and conduct a survey during your trip.
- You can also set up your own watch site at a selected location convenient to you - just download the forms from the Seawatch website, grab your binoculars and get watching! If you would like to make your watch site public and invite other people along, we can help advertise your event and send you forms and other materials to hand out.
- And finally - don't forget to send in your sightings, by post, email, or telephone as soon as possible, so that Seawatch can update their website list of sightings immediately. Remember - all data is important!
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