When a community citizen science project helping to save marine life in Scottish waters recently passed a significant milestone, it was already becoming apparent that the volunteers involved were benefiting in conjunction with the marine species they were scanning the ocean for. A perfect wellbeing loop was forming.
The thousand-strong people’s army are part of Shorewatch, an initiative set up by marine charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) – and anyone can join their ranks.
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What is Shorewatch?
Experts from WDC train volunteers to identify and scientifically record the movements of legally protected species from coastal lookout points, collecting vital data about where they breed, feed and travel. This data then helps with efforts to ensure better protection for whales, dolphins and porpoises by informing marine conservation planning, influencing policy and development decisions. But it all starts with eyes on the sea.
Volunteers can gather data whenever they are out and about near the coastline. On the way to or from work, out with the dog, on a family walk, it doesn’t really matter when. And, it turns out, it brings with it uniquely positive member benefits, as volunteer Cathy Mullins explains.
"It was hard to rid the anxiety brought on by the pandemic. Getting back to socialising is important and this Shorewatch social has been part of my recovery."
One million minutes
The project recently hit a huge milestone. Over the 19 years that WDC’s Shorewatch has been running, members of the public like Cathy have clocked up a massive one million minutes worth of voluntary data collection. The 100,000 individual 10-minute watches have revealed an amazing number of different whales and dolphins that visit or inhabit the seas around Scotland.
In just under two decades, 30,000 whales or dolphins have been sighted, and 18 different species. The five most commonly seen are bottlenose, common and Risso's dolphins, harbour porpoises and minke whales.
Other species seen each year include orca, fin and humpback whale, white-beaked dolphin and white-sided dolphin. Some of the more unusual sightings have included deep diving Cuvier's, Sowerby’s and sperm whales, Sei whale, and the most exciting (18th species) sighted this year – a passing beluga whale normally found in the high Arctic.
Watching whales and dolphins for wellbeing
It is the excited anticipation of not knowing what you might see on a watch, and the joy that spotting one of these amazing creatures brings that seems to deliver unexpected benefits, whether it be personal wellbeing, social interaction, or quality family time together.
Cathy, inspired by Jacques Cousteau, moved up to the Scottish Borders to be near the sea, and Shorewatch provided someone like her, without a science background, a chance to get involved with marine protection.
"It’s very satisfying," Cathy says. "Being one of the team of volunteers enables me to help whales and dolphins and their environment, but it has also helped me with my physical, emotional and spiritual health. After the pandemic, I was really keen to get out and about and reconnect. I completed the simple training and went on a field trip to Orkney. It was incredible – whales and dolphins have a habit of picking all the best spots to hang out and I love the communal excitement when someone in the group has a sighting and there is a quick ripple of energy, binoculars focused....and suddenly there are more..."
A recent study into the benefits of Shorewatch conducted by Exeter University came up with some interesting conclusions. Whilst there is already evidence that volunteering, and spending time around blue spaces (rivers, lakes and coasts) can help with wellbeing, little research has examined whether exposure to blue spaces whilst participating in marine conservation has the potential to support the wellbeing of the volunteers themselves.
The study found that an overwhelming majority of those taking part considered volunteering for Shorewatch to be beneficial to their general (97%) and mental health (94%), and almost two-thirds of them found that Shorewatch was beneficial to their social lives (71%). Half of the respondents believed that participating in Shorewatch increased their level of physical activity (56%).
Just looking at the sea is good for us. And good for the majestic whales and dolphins who live there.
David Jones has found positives of a different kind. "I started doing Shorewatches with my daughter," he says. "It is a great way to spend some quality time with her especially as she is now reaching the mid-teenage years and Dad is usually not so popular! I still get a great feeling inside when I hear the excitement in her voice when she sees a dolphin or whale, it makes it all so worthwhile."
"It is like therapy for me, one of the only ways that I feel relaxed and sitting still at the same time," says volunteer Ronnie Mackie. "As well as the excitement of seeing incredible marine species, it is very rewarding to be able to share your enthusiasm with passers-by. So many people regularly stop to chat and enquire about what I am seeing... a whole new social life!"
Helping sea creatures
Of course, let’s not forget the benefits to those not on land. In the past, Shorewatch data has helped create marine protected areas in the seas around Scotland, including in North East Lewis, supported the identification and designation of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) off the Scottish coast, and fed into research and conservation efforts to better understand a range of human pressures including shipping and fishing activities.
Increasingly, the volunteers have also helped to monitor and report the growing threat posed by disturbance.
As more people are visiting the coast and enjoying taking to the water, the potential harm to whales and dolphins from recreational water-based activities is growing, especially at peak holiday times. Shorewatch is now helping WDC’s work to raise awareness of and reduce this threat, providing advice to members of the public on what not to do when in the water near whales, dolphins and porpoises, and what signs to look out for if they are disturbed.
This kind of voluntary work yields benefits on many levels. Just looking at the sea is good for us. And good for the majestic whales and dolphins who live there.
"When you spot them, you feel like you are part of their oceanic world and part of the entire ecosystem of our planet. Not bad for a volunteering hobby," Cathy concludes.
Words: Danny Groves | Main image: A group of bottlenose dolphins (aka, the Bad Boy Club) in the Moray Firth, Scotland. Credit: Whale and Dolphin Conservation
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