Sea Watch Foundation survey reveals record numbers of whales and dolphins in UK waters

A record number of whales, dolphins and porpoises have been spotted around the British coast.

A nine day survey, by the Sea Watch Foundation during 2019, saw 2,130 sightings across 13 species - a rise of 500 compared to the previous year.

Many of the sightings were pods - or groups - of marine mammals, meaning a total of 11,864 whales, dolphins and porpoises were recorded.

The information has been collected by volunteers across the UK spotting and recording the mammals annually during the last 17 years.

The highest number of sightings recorded last year in the UK were in Scottish waters. In England, the most sightings were around Cornwall.

Fin whales like these were seen around Scotland's coast in recent months

So why are have the numbers gone up?

A warm summer in 2019 meant that the waters around the UK coast got warmer too.

Warm, stable weather created good conditions for plankton - tiny little creatures - which attracted lots of fish to our shores.

The whales, dolphins and porpoises then followed those fish - their natural prey - to the coast of the UK.

These bottlenose dolphins were spotted jumping together in the Moray Firth near Inverness in Scotland

Why are the numbers interesting?

The information from the Sea Watch Foundation survey is really useful for scientists.

They can use it to try to understand the natural behaviours of the mammals so that more can be done to better protect them in the future.

Doctor Chiara Giulia Bertulli, sightings officer at the foundation, said the survey "can inform us of important areas and times of year for particular species, enabling better decision-making on the risk of harm to local populations from human activities".

Various species of sea mammals have been under threat for many years and 1986 it became illegal to hunt whales for commercial reasons.