ISCOPE – Irish Scheme for Cetacean Observation and Public Education

ISCOPE is a new initiative, which aims to promote better awareness and knowledge of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in Irish waters, by encouraging public participation in cetacean recording.

Being fortunate enough to observe a whale or dolphin in the wild is a wonderful experience itself, but by being part of an all-Ireland recording scheme, your observations can make a significant contribution towards their conservation. If you would like to participate in ISCOPE we will provide you with training on how to observe, identify and record cetaceans. The initiative is open to everyone and appropriate training will be given.

Did you know…

Irish waters provide some of the most important habitats for cetaceans in Europe. To date, 24 species have been recorded, amongst them are some of the rarest whales in the world. Despite their importance, the ecology, status and habitat requirements of most whale and dolphin species in Irish waters are poorly understood.

In order to monitor their distribution and abundance the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group have been coordinating a stranding and sightings scheme in Ireland since 1991, which provides a baseline for monitoring whales and dolphins in the Irish waters.

Sighting Schemes

The IWDG have two sighting schemes, a casual and an effort related scheme. Casual sightings are good for recording rare species and identifying areas that would benefit from more intensive coverage. Our effort-related scheme provides an index of relative abundance, showing seasonal and geographical changes in abundance. In 2003 the IWDG database has over 4,500 sighting records and 1,000 hours of effort related watches.

Cetacean sightings may be made by a wide range of people, engaged in a wide range of activities. Sightings data may be submitted to the IWDG by:

• Email on sightings@iwdg.ie
• Website - www.iwdg.ie - via the on-line sighting form

• Phoning in sightings on the IWDG Sighting form. For this purpose we will provide standardised recording forms, in which you can enter your sightings and watch details.

Stranding Scheme

Stranding Schemes are excellent for identifying unusual cetacean events such as high mortality, which could be due to a disease outbreak, fishery interactions, or changes in cetacean distribution. IWDG will train you to identify dead stranded cetaceans to species level from skull characteristics and other body parts. You will also be shown how to record the length and sex of stranded cetaceans, which, if in good condition, will be recovered for post-mortem examination.

Are you interested?

If you are interested in participating in recording whales and dolphins in Ireland and then please contact the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group at Merchants Quay, Kilrush, County Clare or through our website at www.iwdg.ie

ISCOPE Training courses

(We are happy to organise a talk or course near you.)

ISCOPE final report: May 2006

A final report for the ISCOPE project (2002-2005) is available to download.

Download ISCOPE report (PDF file, 2.04 MB)