Bottlenose dolphins are intelligent, inquisitive and playful. They live in complex, highly sociable communities and females have been known to live for 50 years. Resident and coastal populations live in the Moray Firth, Hebrides and Sound of Barra. Scotland is one of the best places in the world to see Bottlenose dolphins from land. A strong tourist industry, worth more than £4 million in the Moray Firth alone, has developed as a result.
They are generally relatively large, chunky individuals with a dark grey back and paler belly. They have a short, stubby beak. Individuals can be recognised by distinct notches and markings on their dorsal fin, as unique as our fingerprints.
The most northerly resident population of bottlenose dolphins in Scotland’s Moray Firth who favour salmon as their prey and they are the largest bottlenose dolphins reaching almost 4 metres in length and can be regularly viewed from the Moray Coast, their distribution is expanding with a number of individuals being seen in the Forth of Firth, Tay and north England.
Photo: © Charlie Phillips / Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Action Needed
- Press for licensing of the east coast commercial dolphin watching industry to ensure the Conservation Objectives of the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) can be maintained.
- Ensure effective management for the Moray Firth SAC for bottlenose dolphin ensuring harmful developments are avoided.
- Support long-term monitoring and research to meet the surveillance requirements of the Habitats Regulations and provide essential evidence for conservation and management.
- Publish the Cetacean Conservation strategy
- Support the implementation of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy; specifically:
- Expand Scottish marine protected areas to 30% by 2030
- Increase the number of sites in Scotland’s Marine Protected Area network with specific fisheries management measures
- Implement measures to reduce noise pollution at its source and restricting damaging fishing practices, two of the biggest threats to bottlenose dolphin MPAs in Scottish waters.
- Invest in nature – implementation of Biodiversity Investment plan
Threats
- High levels of pollution in the Moray Firth
- Disturbance from fast recreational vehicles, unregulated wildlife watching and coastal development.
- Prey depletion and capture in fishing nets.
- Noise from military sonar, oil and gas drilling and exploration, renewable energy development and shipping can disrupt them and even cause them to strand.
- As with all species of cetacean, the unknown impacts of climate change on them, their prey and the habitats on which they rely, is an overarching concern.
All threats are cumulative and should not be seen in isolation.
MSP Nature Champion
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