Our dedicated volunteers play a crucial role for ORCA, donating their valuable time so that important marine mammal habitats around the world can be studied and monitored. Utilising the UK ferry network, our volunteer Marine Mammal Surveyor teams board ferries leaving ports across the UK conducting scientific surveys to record the species seen, where they are and what they are doing. This year marks 20 years of volunteering with ORCA for volunteers, Tracy and David.
Tracy first heard about ORCA as a volunteer at the Cetacean Research and Rescue Unit in Scotland, she loved the fact that ORCA used vessels of opportunity to gather data about cetaceans. David undertook ORCAs Marine Mammal Surveyor training course after being inspired by an incredible trip across the Bay of Biscay, where he encountered over 4,500 animals! We caught up with them both to hear their stories:
What has your journey with ORCA looked like since first becoming involved?
David: It has been a fantastic journey. After completing my training, I signed up for as many ferry surveys as I could. I have been fortunate to do surveys across the Bay of Biscay, to Denmark and the Isles of Scilly, as well trips across the English Channel. I have also taken part in Saga Cruise Surveys too. The journey with ORCA just gets better and better and each year has so much more to offer.
Tracy: I first started surveying regularly on the ferry from Newcastle to Bergen. Unfortunately, that ferry service is no longer in operation, but since then, I have taken part in surveys to Shetland, the Netherlands and Spain. I was privileged to be asked to be the Team Leader on the first Saga cruise survey in 2007 and have gone on to complete many cruises since then. I’ve helped support the Marine Mammal Surveyor training and also been a Wildlife Guide on Sea Safaris across the Bay of Biscay. As a primary school teacher, I have also held fundraising and education days to support ORCA.
What do you enjoy most about being a Marine Mammal Surveyor?
David: Being with like-minded people is fantastic and doing something you love is just a fabulous experience. I love being at sea and luckily have pretty good sea legs. Seeing whales and dolphins just gives me that wow factor, it's hard to explain. As a Wildlife Guide on Sea Safaris, and on Saga cruise surveys, I love seeing the faces of guests who have never seen a whale before and the look of awe when they finally see one. I will always remember my first sighting, I was ecstatic.
Tracy: I love knowing that the volunteering I am doing is allowing us to get a greater insight into these incredible animals. The more we find out the greater the chance we have of being able to help protect and care for them. I love the fact that ORCA shares their data and that it is used to influence policy and effect positive change worldwide. The concept of Citizen Science really appeals to me and, as a teacher, the educational outreach work is also really important to me.
What has been your most memorable survey with ORCA?
David: One of the most memorable was one of the Saga trips I took part in from Iceland to Canada. It was my turn recording our data and I heard the call of ‘Sighting! Dolphins!’. It was a huge pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins with calves, swimming fast. They kept coming towards the ship for over 30 minutes! I was writing down the data when another shout went out ‘Sighting! ORCA!!!’ - that must have been why the Atlantic white-sided dolphins were swimming so fast!
Tracy: Every survey has highlights, sometimes it’s the team you get to work with, sometimes the guests you meet, sometimes the amazing wildlife and sometimes the new knowledge you acquire. Really memorable surveys have all those ingredients! However, one very unique moment was on a Saga cruise to Iceland, we were asked to do an interview for the Radio 4 Saving Species programme. We were interviewed as we headed up the fjord to Akureyi at 5.30am, whilst surveying and looking out for humpback whales – it was bitterly cold! Just as we finished answering our questions, I heard the call of ‘Sighting!’ and the humpbacks appeared at the exact moment needed!
What has been your sighting highlight?
David: I was crossing the Bay of Biscay as a passenger with my family one summer coming back from Santander to Portsmouth. I got chatting to another keen whale watcher on board and I asked him where the best place in the world he had been to watch cetaceans. He said Baja California. So I started planning and went a few years later. It was just incredible, an abundance of cetaceans. My highlights were a Bryde’s whale, a dwarf sperm whale and a black marlin which we saw amongst a large pod of acrobatic bottlenose dolphins.
Tracy: Probably when we were on a Saga Cruise Survey in Svalbard. We had an overnight stay in Longyearbyen and many of the guests had gone out on an electric catamaran and seen beluga whales. This was a species I had never seen and was so sad to miss them. However, the next day we were cruising around some glaciers when we came across a large group. It was incredible! I was walking around the deck trying to ensure all the guests got to see these wonderful creatures, when a guest ran over to me to ask me if I’d seen the polar bear! I’d been so focused on the guests and the belugas that I had been at the opposite end of the ship when the bears were spotted. Luckily, they waited for me! So, beluga, three polar bears and a glacier! Who could ask for more?!
What are you most excited for in the future as a volunteer Marine Mammal Surveyor?
David: It's great to see so many more people getting involved and helping by volunteering their time to assist with data collection, raising awareness and many other ways that we can help these animals. From a personal point of view, now I am semi-retired and soon will be fully retired I hope I can give back more to help. I am now an ORCA Team Leader so I certainly intend to help out on ferry surveys, Saga cruise surveys and Sea Safaris more going forward.
Tracy: I love being at sea, it’s definitely my happy place, and I love watching wildlife and sharing the experience with others. I’d love to have the opportunity to venture further afield. I’ve been as far north as Svalbard but only as far south as North Africa. There’s a whole lot more ocean I’d like to discover and species I’ve yet to see because I’ve never been to their habitat. Here’s to the next 20 years!
The best way to really appreciate how amazing whales and dolphins are is to see them in the wild where they belong - and you can do that from right on your doorstep by joining one of our Sea Safaris! Visit www.orca.org.uk/watch to check out all the upcoming dates and take your first step on your very own whale and dolphin adventure!