In September, ORCA surveys have been conducted on the following routes:
A total of 17 ferry surveys were conducted on the following routes; Dover-Calais, Newhaven-Dieppe, Newcastle-Amsterdam, Aberdeen-Lerwick, Penzance-St Mary's, Plymouth-Roscoff, Plymouth-Santander, Portsmouth-Santander, Poole-Cherbourg, Portsmouth-Caen, Oban-Castlebay, Oban-Colonsay, Mallaig-Lochboisdale, Ullapool-Stornoway, Uig-Lochmaddy-Tarbert.
We also had a Saga Cruise Survey team return to Dover on the Spirit of Adventure after a successful (if a little windy!) British Isles in Summer cruise, and a team depart from Dover on the Spirit of Adventure for the Mediterranean Flavours and the French Riviera cruise.
Amount of effort conducted:
In September, Marine Mammal Surveyors conducted 4,459 kilometres of effort across our ferry surveys and Saga cruise surveys.
Number of individual animals and species recorded:
An amazing 1,070 individual animals were recorded during ORCA surveys in September, from ten different marine species. These species were: harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Risso's dolphin, striped dolphin, northern bottlenose whale, minke whale, grey seal, harbour seal and tuna.
This months survey teams:
Survey highlights:
Marine Mammal Surveyors on the Penzance-St Mary’s survey on the 24th September had a fantastic crossing, Team Leader Neil shares the team’s experience below:
Florentine, Rita and I met up outside of the Dolphin Inn in Penzance prior to departure on the Scillonian III ferry. We were greeted with beautiful blue skies, no wind and an almost mirror like sea. The conditions were as good as it gets for surveying and we all had high hopes for a successful survey.
This was Rita’s first ever survey and Flo’s fourth, Flo is also an Ocean Conservationist for ORCA. After making our way on board, we sat in the café and refreshed ourselves on the equipment we use, survey protocols, and went over the data effort and sightings forms. Soon after the pre- survey briefing the ship left the harbour to head out into Penzance bay. Almost immediately after leaving port we were escorted by the ships purser, Gail, onto the bridge where we were greeted by Captain Dave and First Mate Matt.
We took up our survey positions and it wasn’t long before we started to get sightings of common dolphins, with, it should be said the assistance and enthusiasm of the bridge crew, who were keen to let us know of any sightings! As we steamed along the south Cornish coast and out past Land’s End, the sightings continued with further common dolphins and a pod of six bottlenose dolphins.
Upon nearing St Mary’s we had sightings of harbour porpoise and as we passed Penninis Head on the south of the island, we came off effort. We did however see Atlantic bluefin tuna and another sighting of harbour porpoise as we rounded the west side of St Mary’s, before arriving at the harbour around midday. This gave us just under four hours to explore the beautiful island of St. Marys. Rita and Flo decided to visit the well-known Juliet's Garden Café with wonderful views over St Mary’s town, whilst I decided to try and spot some rare birds on passage migration.
When we returned to the ship we learned that a minke whale had been spotted from the ship shortly before we arrived in St Mary’s, although this would have been whilst we were off effort, so we didn’t feel too bad about not seeing it! We left St Mary’s at around 4pm and headed around the north of the island. The sightings continued with harbour porpoise leaving the islands followed by regular sightings of common dolphins and some more Atlantic bluefin tuna. We then had a big feeding frenzy of diving gannets and dolphins and hoped to maybe see a minke whale as well, but it wasn’t to be. We did however have a sighting of a Risso’s dolphin as we neared Penzance and another minke whale was reported by some of the passengers.
In total we saw 87 animals from six different marine species - what a great survey route Penzance to St Mary’s is! Special thanks to the crew of the Scillonian for making us feel so welcome as usual and sharing their passion for whales, dolphins and birds.
Saga cruise surveys:
Applications are now open for our Saga Cruise Surveys in 2026! There are 16 itineraries taking place on the Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure, with the first cruise departing in January.
ORCA survey teams on Saga cruises will now be conducting bridge based distance sampling surveys as part of their role on board. These surveys will be taking place on ten itineraries during 2026, when sailing through Important Marine Mammal Areas and high risk vessel strike areas.
To be eligible for Saga cruise surveys in 2026, all team members must have completed at least three ORCA ferry surveys, and have completed at least one ferry survey in the 12 months before their cruise departs.
Full details of the cruises, how to apply, and what is required of ORCA volunteers on board can be found on the Applying for Surveys page on the Surveyor Network. Please note applications will close at midnight on Sunday 12th October 2025. Applications submitted after the deadline may still be logged but will not be accepted.