Sea Watch Foundation Marine Megafauna Sightings: 1971 to present

Data Records

The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 196,822 records.

2 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Sea Watch Foundation non effort-related sightings database. Accessed on –INSERT DATE-

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

 

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Sea Watch Foundation. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has not been registered with GBIF

Keywords

marine mammals; marine megafauna; cetaceans; pinnipeds; seals; whales; dolphins; porpoises; sharks; sea turtles; sunfish; visual observation; Samplingevent

Contacts

Geographic Coverage

Sea Watch Foundation calculated BBOX > station Bounding Box

Taxonomic Coverage

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137084

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:159019

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:159023

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:2688

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:987094

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137205

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:368408

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137094

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137020

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:105801

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137115

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137119

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137080

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137086

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:125565

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137104

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137111

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137088

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:1464505

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137113

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137087

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:136980

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:136980

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137098

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:105744

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137102

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137107

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:136980

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:148736

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137209

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:2688

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:105836

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137101

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137117

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:2688

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:343899

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137092

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137121

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137127

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137097

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:105837

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137096

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137103

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:127405

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:126065

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:159025

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137091

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137100

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137034

urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137013

Temporal Coverage

Sampling Methods

Two types of data are supplied: Casual sightings and effort-related land watches. 1) Casual sightings of cetaceans and other non-cetacean species are typically conducted by observers who record sightings opportunistically, rather than through a structured survey method and are usually spontaneous and unplanned. This is often done by staff members, members of the public, researchers, or marine enthusiasts, and involves documenting the presence of animals when encountered during routine activities, such as boating, fishing, or coastal observation. Recording Data • Basic information: Observers generally record the species (if identifiable), the number of individuals, the location (using GPS or geographic landmarks), and the date and time. • Environmental conditions: In some cases, people also note the weather conditions, sea state, and the behaviour of the cetaceans (feeding, traveling, etc.). • Photographic evidence: Observers may take photographs or videos to document the sighting, which can help confirm species identification. Reporting • Casual sightings get reported to us either via our Sea Watcher app, website, email, forms or Excel. 2) Effort-based land watches are structured surveys conducted to systematically monitor cetacean activity along the UK coastline. These watches are carried out by trained observers (staff, volunteers or members of the public) who adhere to a set schedule and methodology to ensure consistency and comparability of the data. The primary objective is to document cetacean presence, behaviour, and environmental conditions over time. These watches can be fixed-point - or walking surveys. • Fixed point - is a static watch with one position, start and end times. Most land-based watches fall in this category, but also includes watches from fixed platforms at sea. May also include estimated range and bearing data. • Walking surveys (via APP) - Observations made during a walk along a stretch of coast. In this case continuous scanning of the sea isn't possible as you do with a dedicated search and more of a casual observation is made. Time, duration and environmental conditions are still recorded, as well as the track (using the GPS from the smartphone APP). Survey Method • Timing and Duration: Watches can be undertaken at any time of day or time. However, lighting conditions are often at their most favourable in the early morning or late afternoon or evening. • Location: Observations are made from coastal vantage points, selected for their wide field of view and accessibility. These sites are often located on headlands or other elevated locations to maximize visibility of the surrounding sea. • Environmental conditions: Watches are best conducted on calm days when there is little surface turbulence, and especially no white caps. • Method: The best way is to continually scan the sea surface with the naked eye, interspersed at intervals with binoculars or telescope. Recording Data • Effort data: At the start of each watch, the observer records their location (using GPS or geographic references), the date, start and end times, and observer details. • Environmental conditions: Weather information, including sea state (Beaufort scale) and visibility, is recorded at the beginning and at regular intervals (10 min-15min ideally) or if conditions change significantly. • Sighting data: For each cetacean sighting, observers note the species (if identifiable), the number of individuals, group size, behaviour (e.g., feeding, traveling), distance and bearing from the observer’s location, and any notable interactions. If the species cannot be positively identified, it is categorized (e.g., dolphin species or whale species). • Photographic evidence: Whenever possible, observers may take photographs or videos to support species identification or behaviour analysis. Reporting • Data submission: Observers can either record information via the Sea Watcher APP, on Sea Watch recording forms, or on Excel forms.

Method step description:

1. 1. Sightings reported to or collected by SWF 2. Sightings validated using method described Quality control section 3. Data filtered (only casual and Land-based sightings) and extracted for upload

Bibliographic Citations

1. Baines, M.E. and Evans, P.G.H. (2009) Atlas of the Marine Mammals of Wales. CCW Monitoring Report No.68. 82pp.
2. Baines, M.E. and Evans, P.G.H. (2012) Atlas of the Marine Mammals of Wales. 2nd Edition. CCW Monitoring Report No. 68. 143pp.
3. Evans, P.G.H. (1976) An analysis of sightings of Cetacea in British waters. Mammal Review, 6: 5-14.
4. Evans, P.G.H. (1980) Cetaceans in British Waters. Mammal Review, 10: 1-52.
5. Evans, P.G.H. (1992) Status Review of Cetaceans in British and Irish waters. UK Dept. of the Environment, London.
6. Evans, P.G.H. and Wang, J. (2002) Re-examination of Distribution Data for the Harbour Porpoise around Wales and the UK with a view to site selection for this species. Report for Countryside Council for Wales. 115pp.
7. Evans, P.G.H. and Waggitt, J.J. (2020) Cetaceans. Pp. 134-184. In: Crawley, D., Coomber, F., Kubasiewicz, L., Harrower, C., Evans, P., Waggitt, J., Smith, B., and Mathews, F. (Editors) Atlas of the Mammals of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Published for The Mammal Society by Pelagic Publishing, Exeter. 205pp.
8. Evans, P.G.H. and Waggitt, J.J. (2023) Modelled distributions and abundance of cetaceans and seabirds of Wales and surrounding waters. NRW Evidence Report No. 646. 354pp. https://cdn.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/media/696779/modelled-distributions-and-abundance-of-cetaceans-and-seabirds-of-wales-and-surrounding-waters.pdf
9. Evans, P.G.H., Anderwald, P., and Baines, M.E. (2003) UK Cetacean Status Review. Report to English Nature and the Countryside Council for Wales. Sea Watch Foundation, Oxford. 160pp.
10. Evans, P.G.H., Harding, S., Tyler, G., and Hall, S. (1986) Analysis of Cetacean Sightings in the British Isles, 1958-1985. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough. 71pp.
11. Evans, P.G.H., Pierce, G.J., Veneruso, G., Weir, C.R., Gibas, D., Anderwald, P., and Santos, M.B. (2015) Analysis of long-term effort-related land-based observations to identify whether coastal areas of harbour porpoise and bottlenose dolphin have persistent high occurrence and abundance. JNCC Report No: 543. 147pp.
12. Reid, J.B., Evans, P.G.H. and Northridge, S.P. (2003) Atlas of Cetacean Distribution in North-west European Waters. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough. 76pp.
13. Waggitt, J.J., Evans, P.G.H., Andrade, J., Banks, A.N., Boisseau, O., Bolton, M., Bradbury, G., et al. (2020) Distribution maps of cetacean and seabird populations in the North-East Atlantic. Journal of Applied Ecology, 57: 253-269. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13525

Additional Metadata