Porpoise Sightings Plummet by 97% Near Protected Welsh Island

According to a study conducted in the past few years, there has been a dramatic 97% drop in sightings of porpoises around Bardsey Island, a protected nature reserve off the north Wales coast. Mick Green, the manager of the Bardsey Marine Mammal Project, has emphasized that this represents a decrease in the number of porpoises observed per hour of monitoring, rather than a direct measure of population size.

The reasons behind this alarming decline remain unclear, but experts have suggested that climate change or the porpoises shifting their feeding grounds could be contributing factors. Green noted that the drop in porpoise sightings has been recorded in other parts of the Irish Sea as well, though the extent of the decline varies. He also pointed out that the Welsh coast does not have a significant fishing industry, but larger trawlers operating in international waters may be accidentally catching and killing porpoises, potentially impacting their overall population.

In response to the concerning trend, the Bardsey Marine Mammal Project is actively recruiting volunteers and training people to conduct regular sightings and monitoring of the area. This data will be crucial in understanding the extent and causes of the porpoise decline, and potentially informing conservation efforts to protect these marine mammals.