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Report your sightings to the local Shetland sightings groups
Report your sightings to the local Shetland sightings groups
Local people coordinate the local Shetland sightings groups (based on Facebook), where people post when they've spotted something interesting (including location, time etc.), which allows others to then go out and spot wildlife too! The sightings are collated into a database managed by Karen Hall, who submits the sightings for national monitoring efforts, and shares the data for relevant projects. The groups are interested in any sightings in Shetland waters, so please feel free to share your sightings, even if you're not sure of what species it is, there will be someone that can help!
Train as a WDC Shorewatch volunteer
Train as a WDC Shorewatch volunteer
WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation is a charity dedicated to the protection of whales and dolphins. You can join WDC Shorewatch and become part of a passionate team keeping watch over Scotland’s incredible marine mammals - including at sites across Shetland and Fair Isle! No experience? No problem! WDC’ll provide all the training you need.
As a Shorewatch volunteer, you’ll carry out quick 10-minute surveys, helping WDC track how whales, dolphins, and porpoises use our seas over time by comparing the frequency of sightings between seasons and years. Even if you don’t spot anything, your data is still valuable!
All you need to do is attend a training session to learn how to survey, record data, and identify different species. After that, you’ll have access to Shorewatch kit and a fantastic local volunteer network. In Shetland, Shorewatchers get together to watch, eat cake, and catch up. Plus, there are fun competitions throughout the year - like prizes for the earliest or latest watch, or the most surveys completed! Ready to get involved? We’d love to have you on board, check out the links below!
Be part of Whale Track and report your sightings
Be part of Whale Track and report your sightings
Seen a fin? Send it in! Whale Track is the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust’s community sightings network, which includes a free smartphone app and website. Anyone can download the app and report their casual sightings or conduct surveys on land or at sea. The data gathered from communities’ sightings and surveys is invaluable in helping us to better understand the whales in our waters. Over the years, this long-term dataset builds an important picture about cetacean societies, providing insights into their lives and their movements, that are vital to inform suitable conservation measures.
How does it work? The app makes conducting surveys or reporting casual sightings quick and easy. Using your phones GPS to accurately log your location and working without the need for phone signal or WiFi, you can report sightings from anywhere, even in the most remote areas. You can conduct land-based surveys from any fixed-point location, reporting on things such as environmental conditions, what marine animals are seen and their behaviours. Even if you don’t see anything during a survey, this still provides vital data on the presence and absence of marine animals in an area. You can even report casual sightings of animals you might spot while out for a walk. You can also use the built-in live sightings map to see what has been spotted recently and the species ID guide to help you identify what animals you have seen.
No phone, no problem. You can also report casual sightings through the Whale Track website.
Log your walks on the Beach Track App
Log your walks on the Beach Track App
Heading out for a walk along the shore or the beach?
Beach Track is a mobile phone App that enables you to record your beach walks and document any marine animal strandings (from marine mammals to large sharks and birds) and marine litter you may come across along the way. By logging your walks and recording your observations you are letting us know which beaches are being monitored, which will help better understand reporting effort for marine stranding and environmental surveillance. This information is helping the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) to improve our understanding of the health of marine animals and potential threats to them.
How does it work? The App works by using your mobile phone GPS to record where you are, and the camera will allow to you log anything your find on the survey. Once you have completed a track, it will ask you a few questions about the type of beach and ask you to assess how much marine litter you saw. Don’t worry if you don’t find anything; reporting that the beach is clean (or not) is just as important as logging a stranding.
Use the interactive map below to see Beach Track records reported so far! At BLUE CONNECT, we would like to ensure we improve and support data collection in Shetland and Fair Isle.
Collect samples with the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme
Collect samples with the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme
The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme is the dedicated research and reporting scheme for stranded cetaceans, pinnipeds, marine turtles, and large sharks in Scotland. Based at the University of Glasgow, a small team coordinate data collection, necropsy and analysis of anything that washes up or strandes around Scotlands shores. However, Scotland’s coastline is a staggering 18,840 km long, including over 800 islands. This is an enormous area to cover, so SMASS utilises a network of trained volunteers to help with the identification, recovery, storage and transport of stranded animals throughout Scotland. SMASS volunteers are trained to take accurate measurements and biological samples of stranded animals in a safe and responsible manner.
There are currently more than 200 SMASS volunteers active in Scotland, including based in Shetland and Fair Isle. Anyone living in a coastal area with an interest in marine animals can register their interest in becoming a SMASS stranding volunteer, which involves attending a strandings volunteer training course. If you would like more information, register your interest by emailing reports@strandings.org
Further, BLUE CONNECT are supporting the improvement of assessment of bycatch in animals that strand in Shetland, via the Bycatch Evidence Evaluation Protocol (aka 'BEEP') project . This is a research initiative led by SMASS, which will enhance bycatch monitoring and strengthen the evidence base, helping identify affected species and regions, to then guide mitigation efforts.
Support the rescue of sick and injured marine mammals around Shetland
Support the rescue of sick and injured marine mammals around Shetland
Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary is a sanctuary for sick, injured and abandoned seals and otters on the Shetland Isles, and over the years have successfully rehabilitated and released hundreds of animals back into the wild. The sanctuary also helps coordinate the rescue of stranded whales, dolphins and porpoises around Shetland’s 1,700 mile long coastline, working closely with British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).
Take photos of marine mammals
Take photos of marine mammals
As part of the BLUE CONNECT project, we are interested in analysing photos of marine mammals taken around Shetland for a number of reasons, including to contribute to photo-identification projects, and to look at scarring to understand past entanglements and interactions. If you capture any images or videos of marine mammals whilst out at sea, please consider contributing them to us, by emailing shetlandmarinemammals@outlook.com.
Get involved with the Shetland Community Wildlife Group
Get involved with the Shetland Community Wildlife Group
The Shetland Community Wildlife Group aims to monitor and record the diverse wildlife of Shetland, providing valuable data that helps local organisations understand and protect Shetland's natural heritage. The group collates available opportunities for Shetlanders on their website, check out present volunteering opportunities here.
Banner Image Credit Emily Hague
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