Many who come
to stay in or near New Quay are interested in seeing wild Dolphins, for
in all of Britain, the New Quay area is probably the best place to see
them. In the New Quay / Llangrannog area they can be seen from the
shore and from boats which take groups out from New Quay on a regular
basis. One cannot guarantee to see the Dolphins on a given day, but the
chances are good for the dedicated Dolphin watcher. Information on
sightings can be found at The Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife
site.
Dolphins are best
observed on days when the sea is calm, as they are much easier to spot
then. The pier at New Quay is usually a good vantage point as is
anywhere along Rock Street - the closest of the New Quay Terraces to
the sea.
Right: Tourists crowd the pier at New Quay
watching a group of 7
or more Dolphins as well as a Grey Seal
Over the last
few years Dolphins have undergone a massive change in the public's
perception. From mere sideshow attractions in the seventies when, as
inmates of various Seaquaria they were taught to do tricks, they have
today attained an almost mystical significance. Sick children are now
taken to swim with Dolphins, and amazing healing powers have been
claimed in the media. This however, is not possible in Britain, where
the law prohibits approaching wild Dolphin.
Whatever
the truth of this, Dolphins are now regarded with far more respect than
in the past, and as a consequence there is far more interest in this
animal group.
Initially
a large part in this change of perception must have been brought about
by the TV series 'Flipper', in which a Dolphin becomes the friend and
helper of a young boy in his various fictional adventures. Subsequent
films such as 'Free Willy' - featuring the related Orca or Killer
Whale, have also worked to change the public's perception and awaken
the interest in Dolphins and their kin.
Naturally, there has been an
awakened interest in the Dolphins of Cardigan Bay, and these animals
are now regarded as a tourist attraction with special Dolphin watching
boat trips going out of New Quay on a regular basis. There is an
ongoing debate about the effect of such trips. While they undoubtedly
help to raise the public's awareness of Dolphins and their
conservation, there are those who believe the boat trips disturb the
animals and are not beneficial.
Cardigan
Bay is one of two important locations off the British coast
for Bottlenose Dolphins. The other area is Scotland's Moray Firth,
which supports a population of around 130 animals. A survey by the
University of Aberdeen has suggested that there may be as many as 127
Dolphins off the Cardigan coast, although other researchers have
suggested that this number may well have been inflated by migratory
Dolphins in the Irish sea joining up temporarily with local groups. One
wonders how many Dolphins may have been resident in the past when fish
stocks were much higher. An Admiralty survey undertaken in 1748 notes
that the herring industry in Cardigan bay employed 97 small sloops, 38
of which were employed between Aberaeron and New Quay. The record catch
of herring was made on the night of October 5th 1745 when 47 boats of
about 12 tons netted just under one and a half million fish, a total of
1,100 barrels!
There are certainly two major
local groups of Dolphins, one off New Quay and the other off
Llangrannog. Although these Dolphins may be seen locally throughout the
year, they have also been observed off the Irish coast. Timings of
these observations suggest they can swim across to Ireland in
just a few hours. Our Dolphins are Bottle-nosed Dolphins -
scientific name Tursiops
truncatus,
just one of thirty-two species of Dolphin world-wide belonging to a
family of marine mammals called the Delphinidae that also includes the
Pilot Whale and the Killer Whale or Orca.
Dolphins have demonstrated a
wide range of sounds and are believed to have a unique 'language' of
their own. They emit clicking sounds or whistles almost constantly. The
clicks are short pulses of about 300 sounds per second, emitted from a
mechanism located just below the blowhole. They are used for the
echolocation of objects and are resonated forwards and amplified by an
organ called the melon. This makes up much of the bulge in the
Dolphin's forehead just behind its 'beak'. Echoes from these clicks are
received at the rear of the lower jaw and transmitted to the middle
ear. The Dolphin's echolocation system is similar to that of a bat,
enabling the dolphin to navigate in complete darkness and to detect its
main prey, fish and squid. The whistles come from deeper in the larynx
and are used to communicate alarm and emotion.
Bottle-nosed dolphins
live in temperate and tropical waters, many of them staying within 100
miles of land. Many live in bays and protected inlets, where the water
is relatively shallow. Bottle-nosed dolphins range as far south as
Argentina and South Africa and as far north as Norway in the eastern
Atlantic.
Dolphins
mate in spring and early summer with the gestation lasting from 10 to
12 months. The females almost always give birth to one calf at a time.
After the calf is born, it immediately swims to the surface for its
first breath of air. The females nurse and protect their young for more
than a year with the males taking no part in caring for the young.
Dolphins,
in common with many other marine creatures living close to the coast
are threatened with pollution and degradation of their environment.
Concerns include sewage, dumping at sea, oil exploration using sonar
methods and harassment from pleasure boats whose owners try to get too
close to the Dolphins.
Dolphins
are 'top predators'. At the top end of the food chain they can easily
accumulate high concentrations of any environmental non-biodegradable
pollutants ingested or absorbed by species lower down the food chain.
In
the light of these concerns, local residents presented a petition to
the Ceredigion Council, and in 1992, the 'Heritage Coast' area was
created from New Quay to Tresaith. Since 1996, the sea area adjacent to
the Heritage Coast has been designated a Special Area of Conservation
under the European Habitats Directive. A number of species and
features, were taken into consideration in creating this area. These
include:
There
are now nine organisations with statutory responsibilities for the
site, which are working together, as ‘relevant authorities’
(RAs). Their aim is to establish a scheme of site management for the
area.
Dolphins
are very intelligent and supremely adapted for their environment, but
however intelligent they may be, they have absolutely no way of
influencing their future. For years they have suffered directly from
the misguided acts of Mankind seeking profit. Now they are threatened
indirectly from a whole range of human activities. Their
future as a species lies with us. We can only hope that common sense
and a genuine feeling for the other species with which we share this
planet will prevail, and that the Dolphins will survive.
