The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has combed through years of accumulated images to make a start on its new photo identification catalogue for fin whales in Irish waters.
And the group is calling on anyone with good-resolution images of the often elusive cetaceans to submit them to the catalogue for appraisal and potential matching.
“It only takes one strong image to reveal an animal’s identity,” IWDG sighting officer Pádraig Whooley says, “and in time this citizen science resource should begin to tell us more about the life histories of the wider cohort that arrive annually along the Irish South Coast most years during May.”
Whooley explains that recording of fin whales in Ireland — historically the more dominant of Ireland’s two large baleen whale species — had taken a backseat to that of the larger, more easily photographed humpback whales which began arriving in greater numbers a decade ago.
Another reason for this shift in emphasis, Whooley says, was the “international significance” of Ireland’s rising numbers of a marine wildlife species, in humpbacks, that has been more susceptible to commercial exploitation.
In recent weeks, however, Whooley says the time was right to revisit the IWDG’s trove of fin whale images which he and Andrew Malcolm have “whittled them down” to a starting set of “53 well-marked individuals, several of whom have been recorded over multiple years”.
“As with the humpback catalogue, these animals have been allocated unique references with associated sightings histories and are stored on a Google drive for ease of matching new images and sharing with colleagues both at home and overseas,” Whooley adds.
It’s hoped to grow this collection with contributions to the public to [email protected]. The IWDG asks that submissions be of at least medium to high resolution, sharp and shot within 100 metres of the focal animal. Especially desired are photos that show “a well-marked dorsal fin or linear scars, blemishes, signs of ship-strike injuries, entanglement marks etc” that will ease identification.
“Given the nature of fin whales and what appears to be declining numbers in Irish waters, this catalogue will no doubt throw up many challenges in the years ahead, but we’re confident there will also be some fascinating discoveries that will help inform future management plans for the largest whale in our coastal waters,” Whooley says.
“As with the humpbacks, one of the first questions we’ll be hoping to answer is, where are their breeding grounds? It’s remarkable that thus far this vital piece of ecological information has eluded whale researchers… perhaps the Irish fin whale catalogue will help solve this mystery?”
An abridged version of the fin whale catalogue will be made available on the IWDG website for citizen scientists to try to match any fin whales they’re fortunate to encounter.
