Scaling up cetacean monitoring: ORCA and Joint Nature Conservation Committee launch a new national pilot for UK waters

When it comes to protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises, the truth is simple: good decisions depend on good data. But even in UK waters, our picture is still patchy - especially offshore, in and around Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and then there's the impact of the weather and the seasons. That’s a problem when these highly mobile species are facing multiple, overlapping pressures, from changing prey availability and underwater disturbance to bycatch risk, water quality impacts and the accelerating effects of climate change.

That’s why we’re hugely excited to share some big news: ORCA and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC, the UK Government’s advisory body on offshore marine environment)) are launching a new national pilot programme designed to close key evidence gaps for cetaceans in UK waters. It’s a partnership that brings together JNCC’s role in convening priorities for national monitoring and advice, and ORCA’s proven model of delivering high-quality surveys at sea through trained surveyors and “platforms of opportunity”.

A smart, scalable approach - using vessels already at sea

At the heart of the pilot is a powerful idea: instead of trying to build an entirely new survey fleet from scratch, we can expand monitoring quickly and cost-effectively by placing highly trained Marine Mammal Surveyors on existing routes - including ferries, cruise ships, freight vessels and other ships already criss-crossing our seas. This allows effort to be targeted where it’s needed most: priority species, priority seasons, and data-poor areas that currently limit our understanding and decision-making.

The programme has been shaped through stakeholder engagement to pinpoint what’s missing and where extra coverage will make the biggest difference - whether that’s improved monitoring in MPAs, more consistent offshore data, or higher sampling frequency to detect change year-on-year and season-by-season.

Priority species highlighted through this process include harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, minke whale, fin whale, Risso’s dolphin and beaked whales - species where better coverage can directly strengthen conservation and management outcomes.

Open data, shared impact

Just as importantly, all data collected will be made open-access via the Joint Cetacean Data Programme (JCDP), so it can be used by governments, regulators, researchers, NGOs and industry. That transparency helps underpin evidence-based decision-making, strengthens reporting (including progress towards Good Environmental Status for marine mammals), and supports more confident planning and management.

The work is funded by Defra through the Healthy and Biologically Diverse Seas Evidence Group.

As JNCC’s Senior Marine Species Specialist Nikki Taylor puts it: “Cetaceans are challenging to monitor so we need to think creatively… By aligning data collection to those needs and sharing data openly through the JCDP, this project aims to add immediate and sustained capacity for high quality cetacean science.”

A landmark moment for ORCA - and for citizen science

For ORCA, this partnership is a real milestone - particularly in our 25th year, and as a small UK charity built on the belief that science should be accessible, participatory and useful. This is citizen science in action: a community of dedicated people making a measurable contribution to conservation, and now being recognised and amplified through a partnership with a UK statutory nature conservation body.

To every ORCA volunteer, supporter, and shipping partner: thank you. Your time, skill, determination and sheer stubborn love for whales and dolphins is what makes moments like this possible - and what makes the next chapter so exciting.

ORCA CEO Sally Hamilton reflects on this new programme: “This partnership with JNCC is an extraordinary and proud moment for ORCA - and it belongs to our volunteers and supporters as much as it does to our staff team. For 25 years, ORCA has shown what’s possible when you put high-quality science into the hands of everyday people who care deeply about the sea. Working with JNCC lets us scale that impact in UK waters, turn evidence gaps into answers, and help protect whales, dolphins and porpoises where it matters most.”

Get involved

If you represent a ferry, cruise, freight or survey operator and would like to help host surveys - or if you’re interested in training as an ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyor - there will be opportunities to get involved as this pilot develops.

Main image: Common dolphins (Richard Lovelock)