WILDLIFE EXPERT HOPS ON BOARD TO EDUCATE FERRY FIRM’S
36 Sunday Mail email
Jenny Morrison As Andy Gilbert scans the choppy waters off the west coast of Scotland, he admits he is having a whale of a time.
The charity wildlife off icer has been seconded by ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne to educate passengers about the area’s marine life. At dawn or dusk, in sunshine or rain, he can be found on the deck of any one of the company’s 33 vessels, keeping his eyes peeled for bottlenose dolphins, minke whales, porpoises and grey seals. He travels on routes from the River Clyde all the way up to Stornoway and Lewis. Andy, 47 said: “Most people don’t realise how many species of dolphin, whales, porpoise and other amazing sea creatures are in the waters around the UK – with Scotland being the primary area where they are found. “We have very rich waters here, particularly around the Hebrides. I encourage passengers to stand with me and not only look out for the marine wildlife that is all around but learn a little about them too. “To watch someone’s face light up as they see their first dolphin is an amazing experience. “As a wildlife fanatic, I couldn’t be happier helping educate them on the creatures that I am so passionate about.” Andy, who is originally from Devon
but now lives in Oban, took up the CalMac Marine post last year.
He is seconded to the company as part of conservation charity ORCA’s OceanWatch programme, which brings together shipping f irms across Europe to collect data on marine mammals.
Despite having studied marine life around the world, Andy has been astounded by many of the sights he has seen in Scottish waters.
He said: “One of the most amazing sights was when we saw 50 basking sharks in a group near the Summer Isles.
“They had their mouths open and were filtering the water for food, taking in plankton.
“I’ve got a lovely image of about the same number of common dolphins who came to see us as we approached Gott Bay at Tiree.”
While the noise of the ferries may repel some sea life, Andy says the ships actually attract others.
He said: “Dolphins seem to like to bow ride. They enjoy being in the slip-stream of the ships, which is probably a mixture of them conserving their energy and playing as they are very gregarious and social creatures.
“Sometimes you will see them feeding far in the distance, with no interest in us at all, then the next day you see them racing to the ship and playing all around.”
ORCA says a third of the world’s population of whale, dolphin and porpoise can be found in UK and European waters.
Those spotted from CalMac ferries on their west coast routes last year included the Risso’s dolphin and the orca whale. Seabirds that Andy has seen include sea eagles, black guillemots, grey herons and even a white Icelandic gull spotted near Colonsay. A favourite photograph he took is of a herring gull with a langoustine hanging from its mouth. He said: “I remember we had a fishing boat off the stern of the ship and I wondered what it was fishing for. Then this herring gul l appeared with a langoustine in its mouth – showing our Scott ish gulls are a little on the posh side and showing the variety of good food in the Hebridean waters.” While Andy says that rarely a day passes when he doesn’t see something amazing through his work, the nature of his job means he isn’t always in the right place at the right time. His biggest regret is missing the pod of six orca – or killer whales – who appeared in the River Clyde between Gourock and Dunoon last April.
As well as educating ferry passengers on the birds and animals they see, a major part of Andy’s job is raising awareness of the marine environment.
He says campaigners, including David Attenborough with his Blue Planet series, have encouraged more people to think about marine conservation.
He regularly posts photos on social media of plastic pollution he has spotted floating in the ocean.
He said: “David Attenborough has done so much to promote marine conservation, among other things, and Blue Planet did a huge amount to make the public more aware of things such as plastic pollution and its effect on marine life.”
It’s just amazing to watch people’s faces light up as they see their first dolphin