This week, ORCA’s State of Cetaceans 2025 report was published. The report gives insight into how the world’s cetaceans are coping with human impacts on our oceans, and it couldn’t have been compiled without the data collected by YOU – our incredible Marine Mammal Surveyors.
The report analyses over 370,000 km of surveys conducted in 2024, with citizen scientists spending more than 13,000 hours actively searching for whales and dolphins - that’s one and a half years of effort! An incredible 51,514 individual animals were recorded from 46 different cetacean species.
The geographical scope of ORCA’s work has expanded from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean to cover all of the world’s oceans including the Southern Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, which are now monitored regularly. Our State of Cetaceans reports have also enabled population estimates for five commonly seen species around the UK, harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, white-beaked dolphin and minke whale. Re-emphasising the importance of citizen science to complement the once-every-decade large-scale surveys.
The production of this annual report was only possible due to the dedication of our incredible network of Marine Mammal Surveyors. We want to take this opportunity to say a massive THANK YOU for all of your hard work, time and commitment to ORCA. Without ORCA’s citizen scientists, we would be unable to carry out this vital research protecting cetaceans and their habitats.