A new smartphone app is set to enhance the monitoring of whales, dolphins and porpoise in seas around the Highlands and Islands, thanks to a lottery grant of nearly £80,000.
It will allow wildlife/whale-watch tour operators and other seafarers to record systematically their sightings of the marine mammals, using technology available in their pockets. The app, which will be launched next year, will work at sea without phone reception as it will rely on GPS only, uploading data once internet coverage is available.
Alongside the development of its new app, the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust will organise a programme of free workshops for the public throughout the west of Scotland to train volunteers how to identify and record marine wildlife.
The trust’s Dr Lauren Hartny-Mills said they were "absolutely thrilled" to have received a grant of £79,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. "We are confident the project will deliver much needed long-term monitoring data, as well as engaging local mariners with the amazing wildlife that the west of Scotland has to offer.”
She said community engagement work by the trust had shown that data collected by members of remote coastal communities could "transform our understanding of marine mammals in the Hebrides – including which places are important to them and when, declines and recoveries in numbers, and emerging threats."
Wildlife guide Vivi Bolin from Hebrides Cruises, said: “As a scientist and a guide, collecting effort-based sightings data and contributing to research on the wonderful Scottish marine life adds value to what we do. The app will simplify data collection on board and also benefit us and our guests by providing a visual tool for displaying our sightings and the routes we have taken. The app will enhance the guest experience and our collaboration with Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust on this project is important to us.”
Whale-watching was recently estimated to be worth £1.7 million, attracting 15,700 tourists to the west of Scotland in 2015.
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