MARINElife guided for a very successful Whale and Dolphin Theme
Cruise in the Bay of Biscay aboard the Brittany Ferries Pont Aven,
encountering over 800 individual whales and dolphins of 9
different species.
The Pont Aven left Portsmouth on the 23rd August 2011 bound for
Santander and proved to be an excellent platform for whale, dolphin
and seabird observation. After talking to the passengers about the
importance of Biscay and the range of species which can be found
there, we positioned ourselves on deck 10, where we had superb
vision both port and starboard and were encountering dolphins from
first light on the 24th August and sightings of cetaceans continued
throughout the day.
The route took us across all the habitats of Biscay, from the
shallow waters of the continental shelf, across the deepening
waters of the continental slope, the very deep waters of the
abyssal plain and the canyons off the north Spanish coast.
We encountered 60 large whales (many confirmed as Fin Whales) on
the route south, together with Pilot Whales and Cuviers
Beaked Whales. Dolphins were numerous and included Common Dolphin,
Striped Dolphin, Risso's Dolphin and Bottlenose Dolphins.
Birds sightings included several species of shearwater, including
Great, Sooty, Cory's and Manx. Sabines Gulls were also seen as well
as Great and Arctic Skuas.
After a couple of hours ashore in Santander, we boarded and headed
for Plymouth. Sightings of Common Dolphins were numerous on the
continental shelf the following morning and despite a less than
ideal seastate, we did encounter a Minke Whale and several Harbour
Porpoises.
In summary, a successful trip with enthusiastic passengers and
wonderful wildlife encounters. Full details can be found by
clicking here
