Scottish Independent Media

By Claire Elliot

THEIR daredevil bow-riding tricks are an impressive spectacle.

 But as the bottlenose dolphin population happily plays off the Aberdeenshire coast, some of its closest relatives are under threat.

In particular, the white-beaked dolphin is becoming such a rare sight it has been branded “Aberdeen’s version of the panda”.
 

The area was named one of the best places in Britain to spot whales and dolphins after seven species - including a killer whale - were recorded off the city shores in the summer.
 

Bottlenose and white-beaked dolphins, harbour porpoise, minke whales, common dolphins and Risso’s dolphins, were also seen, with white-beaked dolphins not recorded in any other region.

Researchers fear, however, that rising sea temperatures and the knock-on changes in food supplies could soon mean many of these frequent visitors are a thing of the past.
 

Sea Watch Foundation area coordinator and cetacean researcher Ian Sim, who is based at Stonehaven, said: “Every time I see a dolphin I‘m ecstatic.
 

“I’ve got a fascination for them and to be able to study them is fantastic.
 

“Research is vital for their preservation.
 

“It would be devastating if they disappeared from our coast.
 

“But there is a concern for their future because if all their food dies out there will be a knock-on chain reaction.”
 

Bottlenose dolphins are already starting to spend longer periods away from the Aberdeenshire coast.
 

And Mr Sim, 51, estimates that if sea temperatures continue to rise there will be no sightings of white-beaked dolphins from the region's shores within 10 years.
 

They favour the cold waters of the North Atlantic but are regular visitors to the north-east in the summer.
 

Mr Sim said: “They used to be quite frequent. But they seem to be fading out.

“Up until 2005 they were feeding on the shoreline. Then they started to feed further off- shore and since then we have only had half-a-dozen land-based sightings.”
 

Ian Hay, of the East Grampian Coastal Partnership, said the species was becoming so rare it was like “Aberdeen’s version of the panda“ and he believed it deserved more recognition.
 

He said: “Everyone knows about the Moray Firth dolphins but I don’t think many people have heard of white-beaked dolphins, charismatic as they are.
 

“They’re like little killer whales and they are ridiculously keen on bow-riding boats.”
 

Mr Sim has been collecting data on dolphin populations in the North Sea for eight years, recording behaviour and feeding patterns, sea conditions, and taking photos to identify the dolphins.
 

On his latest outing this week he recorded a group of 12 bottlenose dolphins near Stonehaven, which could be seen breaching the water and riding the waves at the bow of the boat.
 

But he said with more people continuing to record sightings of common dolphins - a species more used to tropical waters - it further illustrated the affects of global warming.
 

And he stressed it was not just dolphins which were affected by the changes in sea temperatures.
 

“I have seen a difference, not just with the cetaceans but puffins as well.” he said.

“Last year there were very little sand eels for puffins to survive on.
 

“The sand eels are also fading out because the temperatures are not so cold.”
 

He is now hoping to raise £10,000 to buy a suitable research vessel and equipment that will allow volunteers like himself to spend more time at sea recording data.
 

As well as studying the effects of global warming he hopes to help further research the cause of a spinal defect affecting three bottlenose dolphins that frequent the area.
 

It is thought it is likely to be a genetic condition. But he believes further investigation could determine if pollution may also be a factor, amid claims of 800,000 tonnes of oil, 6.5millon tonnes of industrial waste and 7.8 million tonnes human sewage going in to the North Sea each year
 

He added: “Research is vital and we also need to get kids interested so the next generation can continue to preserve them.”