Hebrides Cruises were delighted to take part in a recent stakeholder meeting with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, to inform future developments of the Whale Track App. Wildlife Guides Lynsey Bland and Alexa Kershaw lent their expertise and shared their thoughts to the charity on how to move forward with the next stage of the Whale Track App.
Hebrides Cruises and Lynsey helped develop and pilot the new Whale Track App onboard our cruises four years ago. Whale Track is a first-of-its-kind smartphone app that allows anyone to submit marine mammal sightings off the west coast of Scotland. It uses the technology we all carry in our pockets to quickly and easily record sightings of marine mammals. Any member of the public can help to track the movements of coastal species like bottlenose dolphins and help unravel the mysteries of more elusive species such as killer whales.
For the past four years, Hebrides Cruises have been working alongside the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust to help protect and celebrate the amazing whales and dolphins in our waters. We do this as a Corporate Partner and by reporting our sightings through the Whale Track App onboard our cruises. Since the establishment of the App, we have reported around 500 encounters with these amazing creatures, helping to monitor the distribution and abundance of marine mammals in the Hebrides.
Hebrides Cruises will help in the testing phase of the updated Whale Track App and our guests joining us on board in the 2022 season will be contributing to the important work of long-term monitoring of cetaceans in these waters by reporting their sightings.
The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust is based in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, leading the way for the conservation of cetaceans in the waters off the west coast of Scotland. Their research has hugely advanced the understanding of species in the seas of the Hebrides, providing essential evidence to inform protection measures for marine mammals.
Our cruise to St Kilda was a huge success. We made it safely to these wonderful isles thanks to James and his experience of the Hebridean weather and what a day we had there. Bright sunshine with no wind and a spectacular walk with magical views and then a fantastic cruise around Boreray and the stack with calm seas and thousands of birds. James provided us with a sunny day on the Shiants and we also had some lovely walks on Vatersay, Scarp, Isay and around the Viking canal at Rubha an Dunain. Lindsay’s ability to spot wildlife was amazing and as always we really enjoyed her company up on the fly deck. Jaya’s food was perfect and Sofia could not have been more attentive. A wonderful trip, our 5th on Emma Jane and we look forward to many more.
Jenny & John Bartram: 8 June 2024St Kilda and the isles of the Outer Hebrides