The Dolphin Coast of Wales

Quite often the response I get when I tell people that I have been watching Dolphins, is where? ... They do not mean where as in which part of the coast, but in which part of the world! Why go anywhere else, West Wales has lots of Cetaceans, Dolphins, Porpoises and occasionally Whales!

It started with...

Back in the 1970's I was fishing off the rocks alongside the beach at Aberporth. It was sunny with plenty of bathers in the small bay. My feeble attempt at catching fish had become an exercise in drowsy meditation. Suddenly my reverie was broken by the sight of a fast moving pod of Dolphins coming in from the distance. The classic horror film "Jaws" was fresh in our minds and the Dolphins seemed to be heading in to the beach. It occurred to me that if they came right in, there would be mass panic as few of the bathers would differentiate between Sharks and Dolphins! A passing speedboat deflected the dolphins course, they turned for the south and disappeared as quickly as they appeared. None of the bathers had seen them but I had, my first wild British Dolphin encounter!

Even in the winter...

A couple of years ago I had a meeting with Steve Hartley of Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Group, with whom Sea Trust have close links through the Wildlife Trust. It was a murky damp winters day. Newquay had that air of ghost-town desolation that out of season seaside towns exude.

I was early and as I parked my car in the car park on the front, my eyes strayed over the bay. As I did so a Bottlenose Dolphins cruised by, not more than 20 metres from the beach. She was accompanied by a smaller calf. I grabbed my binoculars and noticed at least half a dozen more in a little group about 50 metres out . The other two joined them and they began breaching, leaping huge leaps, crashing back into the sea, tail slapping, the whole group going crazy giving me a private show as the only spectator.

On our Strumble Head "New Years Day 2008 Porpoise Watch", I arrived to find several people already watching a group of big Risso's Dolphins passing by. Their huge raked fins and scarred backs clearly visible, as they slowly and majestically cruised past heading out to sea. Not to be upstaged, Harbour Porpoises took their place popping up here and there and putting on a show . A big grey seal added to the list of sea mammals that entertained us throughout the afternoon starting the year off splendidly.

Summer bonanza.

In July, half way along we saw a couple of Harbour Porpoises heading away at speed as if frightened. We could see Gannets feeding at the harbour entrance so we made our way to the end. A mixed group of eight Bottlenose Dolphins, adults with juveniles and one smaller calf were feeding on a mackerel shoal with Gannets plunging in around them . Bottlenose Dolphins occasionally kill Porpoises, so no wonder they vamoosed.

Whilst filming the Bottles' I got calls from several Sea Trust supporters telling me there were also Common Dolphins actually in the harbour. We drove round to the Parrog at Goodwick for a better view and were astounded to discover an eight foot long Porbeagle Shark cruising just off the beach obviously a bit lost! I filmed it, getting some great footage as it came right up to my feet as I stood on the wooden planking of one of the sea defences. Apart from the shark there was a group of four Common Dolphins milling around in the harbour probably trying to keep out of the way of the Bottlenose Dolphins and the Shark!

You could not guarantee such spectacles every day but somewhere or other along our coast you can bet there will be cetaceans to see almost any day of the year. If you get out on a boat it's even more likely. We see them regularly from the "Stena Europe" ferry on our Sea Trust surveys.

We at Sea Trust are committed to protecting and caring for our marine environment and its wildlife. Our aim is to encourage conservation led sustainable ecotourism. visit us in our new base, the Ocean Lab, Fishguard Harbour Pembrokeshire and find out more!

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