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A BREEDING GROUND for humpback whales feeding in Irish waters has been discovered by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) after 16 years of searching.
While on an expedition to the Cape Verde islands off the West African coast, IWDG spotted and photographed a humpback whale which had been seen 4 years previously off west Kerry.
Humpbacks undergo one of the longest annual migrations travelling from rich feeding grounds at high latitudes, such as Ireland, to tropical breeding grounds close to the equator.
This is the first re-sighting of an individual humpback whale from Ireland to a known breeding ground.
Over the past 20 years, Ireland has become an important site for humpback whales with 92 individual whales having been recorded from unique and permanent markings on their tail flukes and dorsal fins.
About 80% of these whales have been recorded more than once in Irish waters with two-thirds recorded over five times and 14% recorded over ten times.
According to the IWDG these whales are not just passing through Irish waters but staying for weeks, often months, during the spring, summer and autumn.
In 2003, the group first travelled to the Cape Verde islands with the belief that this was most likely the origins of the humpbacks that appear in Irish waters. However, the Cape Verde humpback whale population is small and has not recovered from years of whaling in the 18 and 19th centuries – which made things more difficult for the IWDG.
After not being able to match any of the whales to the those photographed in Ireland the IWDG returned to Cape Verde in 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2014. But with no luck.
It was during a chance excursion to Santa Monica off the southwest tip of Boavista during a two-week expedition to Sal Rei on Boavista in April of this year that the group got lucky.
Two whales surfaced near the research boat towards the end of a day trip. Both whales were photographed by Simon Berrow, CEO of IWDG, and one of these whales was the same individual photographed off west Kerry in 2015 by Nick Massett.
Berrow said it was a relief to finally find at least one breeding ground for Irish humpback whales but added that it raises issues regarding how is Ireland going to use this finding to enhance the conservation status of this endangered humpback whale population.
“Those responsible for marine conservation in Ireland will have to build relationships with, and provide assistance to, the Cape Verde government in their efforts to protect this critically important breeding ground,” Berrow said.
The IWDG is planning another expedition to Cape Verde in September to explore the waters around Cape Verde and train up local biologists in survey techniques and species recording.
Here we go again…if at first they say know…bate it down them til we get our way….assholes! Respect the peoples wishes for once and for all you facists…….
If it is a no vote, they are more than entitled to come back with a better wording. Nothing undemocratic about that and i would hope people had the political maturity to recognise that it would be a different proposal. Their excuse of blaming the presidential election doesn’t make sense, as surely lack of interest would have led to a yes vote.
Different wording, same effect.
The people have spoken!
There’s too much hysteria here. This isn’t Lisbon. This was rejected (by me for one) because it was poorly explained with some potentially worrying things in it. The alternative here is long drawn out tribunals which are just a gravy train for the barristers and never seem to provide What is wrong with improving the legislation and returning to the people? There IS a need for reform.
Des this mean Divorce should still be illegal in Ireland?
Of course that should be ‘no’
A better wording with better safeguards and I’d be happy to change my vote to yes. I’m not against Oireachtas inquiries. I’m simply against the amendment as proposed.
Correct it properly and I’ll happily vote yes and encourage others to do so in the same manner in which I encouraged others to vote no to the amendment rejected on Thursday,
Just like Lisbon. Can’t they for once respect the citizens and democracy
And Nice
When will they learn that not informing the Irish people properly n the face of referenda will blow up in their faces time and time again. Surely a chimpanzee would have learned by now, that the Irish electorate will not be told how to vote, we must be spoken to with clear and logical arguments for and against the referenda and then we will make OUR decision. The failure of this referendum to pass is purely the fault of the ministers arrogance and I think they should have to reimburse the tax payer for the cost of this referendum and it’s sequel out of their own pockets.
When FF sent Nice and Lisbon referendums (a) back to the people for a second time, Brendan Howlin freaked out!!!! Labour have really changed their spots since getting into Government. I feel really let down by them!!!!
Howlin’s turned blueshirt!
Actually Mr Howlin, I think you’ll we’ll be telling you when it’s the end of it
So much for the referendum answer. Seems they will ignore it and force us to vote and vote agian till we say waht they want.
Brendan, maybe we voted no because when we look at the collective calibre of the Oireachtas, past as well as present, we’d rather not entrust such serious responsibilities to a body that leaves a lot to be desired in terms of perceived honesty, integrity and doing what’s right. When you guys start behaving like responsible parliamentarians as opposed to showboating for the preservation of your seats, then we might reconsider. However, you’ve still a long way to go, so don’t be coming back to us anytime soon.
Who elects them? You and me. It’s very easy to blame others for the faults of the system, much harder to look at our own motivations and the effects these have on the system. We had 15 years of ‘what’s in it for me?’ and ‘I’m alright Jack’ – pretty much the same attitude politicians and lawyers get accused of. We get what we deserve.
@donnacha
There are always those for whom the democratic system is only working when their party wins.
@Neil How true! It reminds me of something I read recently.
“When votes are distributed among several candidates.. the sum of the votes received by those who recieved fewer votes might well constitute an overwhelming majority. The candidate with fewer votes wins and his success is regarded as legitimate and democratic. In actual fact, dictatorship is established under the cover of false democracy. This is the reality of the political systems prevailing in the world today. They are dictatorial systems and it is evident that they falsify genuine democracy.” M.Al-Qaddafi
We need the power back in the hands of the people.
@kitalpa That’s the reason we use a PR voting system
Excellent result if this potentially dangerous ammendment is defeated.
Even if it is only an initial skirmish.
This is another government now desperately trying to force its own will on the people… The defeat in this referendum, the anihilation in the presidential election and defeat in Dublin West by election must be a crushing blow to Enda Kennys ego. This Govt gives me the same impression as the last bunch… “We’ll do what we want regardless of what the people want…”
do the ministers not realise the are crap at the jobs they are doing, without turning them into bar room judges too. we have courts to prosecute the guilty. there is no need for ministers to cost the tax payer more by organising nice jobs for those in the big boys club. these tribunals are costing us billions
I voted no because there were insufficient safegaurds in place to prevent abuse of the new powers members of the oireachtas would have gained. If they come back with a better piece of legislation, I will probably vote yes. This is all about lack of quality of the legislation and not about the aim of the legislation. Put some checks and balances in place, and the problem is removed for most people.
Best post I’ve read so far, no hysteria or tabloid style dumbing down! Many people, including the former AG’s, felt this amendment gave too much power to the Oireachtas.
If the Government come back with a differently worded proposal, which contains a provision for appeal to the courts and the checks and balances that Dave refers to, then that is a fundamentally different proposition to put before the people. It’s not the same as Lisbon or Nice because the same proposition was more or less put to the people twice.
I wish they’d get their own house in order before they start telling us where we need reforming. Like they promised during all their election spiel!!
we shouldnt have bothered voting when they wont listen to us. Lisbon all over again
Agree with much of the above. I voted NO to this amendment, would probably vote YES if wording was better. Fully agree that they can ask us again if they re-word it more carefully, but like many others are getting sick of lazy Oireachtas bastards firing out any old shite and getting indignant when we say NO. Will they ever learn….No. They’re politicians. They never, ever learn from anything. I’m reminded of the late Dáihi Ó Conaill’s view on the Dáil…”It’s like a banana. You go in green, turn yellow and end up rotten!”
What give more power to the Healy Rae/Lowrey cartel?, I think not
Even those who opposed this referendum accepted the need for a referendum – just not this particular wording.
All the political parties supported this.
This has absolutely nothing to do with party politics.
I and lots of others I know do not want a referendum and we were against it and glad it was voted down. I wish people would not take it upon themselves to speak for others without their permission but then again they are just the same as the arrogant politicians who think some of those against them are against them because they are somehow incapable of making an intelligent decision.
No they don’t.
You want the Oireachtas to hold the Executive to account? Abolish the damn whip system, let TDs vote as they feel is right, and enhance the separation of powers rather than undermining it.
No means No………….
So Mary then divorce should still be illegal
Given the lack of promotion, discussion and debate regarding the referendum The government cannot be surprised by a no vote, should that be the final result. If nothing else this result will hopefully lead to some positive discussion on the topic. If a viable, effective and just proposal is put on the table and then, crucially, if it is communicated clearly to the Irish public it will be welcomed with open arms. There is an appetite for positive reform not for haphazard change the risks of which are not fully understood
Howlin is an arrogant bollix. LISTEN to the people that put you where you are for once. Enda grow a pair and sort these clowns out.
Here we go again Nice 1 , Lisbon 1 , Dail Kangaroo Courts 1 Stand tall People of Ireland hold the line we won’t let this go to a 2nd referendum vote we have been hood winked to many times Fool me once shame on you fool me twice & believe me with Nice & Lisbon we have! Wake up people
Would it not be more correct to say Mr Shatter that you were planning on the extensive presidential coverage and therefore lack of referendum coverage to slip said referendum into being passed? Very smart move and sly. Politicians are not to be trusted and it is extremely dangerous and frightening to think that you would be given such powers.
‘Politicians are not to be trusted.’ I’m sorry but I have some difficulty with this statement. We should be encouraging our children to see politics and political science as a worthwhile, necessary and essential endeavour. We need to except and insist that the politicians are the duly elected spokespeople of the people. If we feel we cannot trust them, than we need to question our own involvement in the democratic political process and our choices in elections.
Excellent point, Marian. There should be more people interested in politics, not fewer. There should be more people *involved* with politics and informed political discussion, not fewer.
Can’t see a yes vote resulting in ordinary people being hauled before the oireachtas. Thought it
was intended to do away with pricey tribunals and to go after bad bankers not a ruse to launch a modern-day Spanish Inquisition.
Perhaps that is the intentions of this government… but I don’t think I would like to give that sort of power to the several governments that have yet to come.
Please remember that as soon as this piece is passed, it is very unlikely that it will be touched on again for the lifetime of this republic.
The very fact that Brendan Howlin even thinks of sending this back to the people after they have given their answer should ring alarm bells! Do we want democracy or dictatorship? We need badly to stand up to this carry on and stick to our guns. What is the point of having a referendum otherwise? This carry on really annoys me and some people’s attitude really bother me as well. We are not all amadans – we knew exactly what we were doing. The arrogance of these people is frightening and guess what? We can’t trust then not to bring whoever they like before the oireachtas.
Tell us this Donal…if it was passed…would Bren have asked us to vote again…just to be absolutely sure??? I doubt i…
Given the almost complete absense of information and debate on this prior to the referendum, if the government now intend to do a “Lisbon” and say “Oh no you didn’t”, can we now expect a huge amount of debate on the subject in the media, on radio, tv and in the papers? Now wouldn’t it be odd if that were to happen?
By the way Donal – WE GOT IT RIGHT ; Suck It Up!!!!!!
I opposed this as the PAC had lost the run of themselves and had to correct the record of the PAC last week but that was to late for me the result is great news for all of us who had to battle the government on this the people are wise
I WILL never TRUST a POLITICIAN with legal matters or health or education or justice or finance or or or or or or or or or and any referendum they ask us about I WILL ALWAYS VOTE AGAINST IT UNTILL WE CAN GET AN HONEST GOVERNMENT IN TO CARETAKE OUR COUNTRY AND I HAVE YET TO MEET ONE
THEY CAN BRING THIS BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN AND MY VOTE WILL ALWAYS BE NO
anyone can go for election and call themselves politicians the Irish need to take a stand
If the judges have to take a cut in wages why not leave their wages but put in place that they ( the educated) handle the investigations just a thought here at this hour of morning
Whats the point of a Referendum if the Government are going to ignore it. And this is not the first time. So much for your democratic voice.
Howlin is a scumbag – we voted NO, now suck it up and f**k off with your amendment.
@Tony that’s my point we made a balls of Lisbon and nice so we had to do it again so when the people speak in Ireland it doesn’t matter unless they give the right answer, the last Lisbon was passed with the assurance that 12% tax would not change yet we see Enda still trying to protect it (Why’s that) ” fool me once”
The Irish people are thick and that’s why we will have to do it again till we get it right. And we deserve it
Rubbish. People rightly sensed the dangers inherent in writing members of the Oireachtas a blank cheque of power. They have said “back to the drawing board”. A very wise choice in my view.
Speak for yourself Dave and no one else. I don’t remember casting my NO vote as saying ‘go back to the drawing board’. In fact I seem to remember making a very definitive statement that I don’t agree with this amendment, therefore I am voting NO and should the outcome be NO across the rest of the country, that I expect my wishes to be respected in the same way as I would have respected a YES vote had it been the outcome.
I think the ‘Yes’ side substantially benefited from the lack of debate (or lack of coverage), and the distraction of having a presidential election at the same time (and I think they know that).
Shatter seems to be trying to give the impression that this actually worked to their disadvantage.
Next time, there won’t be the distraction of the presidential election, and people will be better informed because of what they’ve learned on this campaign.
So I don’t think they’ll get away with just running the same referendum again.
It then becomes a question of how much they try to get away with (i.e. how little they’ll chance changing it).
People should make their views known – that they will reject anything which only partly addresses the problem. (Otherwise, the ‘Yes’ side may deliberately give us another bad referendum, and use the argument that people should vote for it to save the state the cost of another referendum and the delay involved).
I voted no but would vote yes with an improved wording. All the naysayers obviously still want divorce banned in Ireland.
If this poorly worded rubbish is stuffed back in our faces the whole country should march on the dáil and give these deaf wasters our answer! Bertie told us we got it wrong and we had but only by voting in thieves and political scum like fianna fail.
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