Marine Life charity monitors wildlife from ferry
- Published
A conservation group has been using ferries to monitor the behaviour of marine wildlife.
Volunteers for Marine Life have collaborated with Condor Ferries, for the first time this year, to cover more than 200 miles.
Dr Rachel Davies, conservation science manager, said: "Ferry-based research is an essential part of our strategy.
"Our research is used to provide information for marine spatial planning and site safeguarding."
In the first ferry survey, from Weymouth to Guernsey and Jersey, about 400 birds from 13 different species were recorded.
"Our aim will be to run these surveys on a monthly basis, in line with our other ferry routes across the UK," added Dr Davies.
"This is key to investigating changes in population distributions at different times of the year," she said.
The UK-based research charity has already discovered bottlenose dolphins, porpoise and puffins around the Channel Islands.
"Almost a third of all dolphin and whale species occur in the waters around the UK," Dr Davies added.