Fluke Follow Project

FlukeFollow Project

Following a fantastic second field season in 2018, opportunistically surveying cetaceans in west Cork on-board whale watching eco-tour vessels, our team recorded ten individual humpback whales throughout the season, countless minke whales and got the first ever drone footage of a fin whale in Irish waters.

‘FlukeFollow’ Project aims to continue to conduct novel research on marine megafauna using the latest technology and methodology including; photogrammetry with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) or drones, focusing on baleen whales along the south coast of Ireland.

Not only does the use of drones aid in increasing detection probability of cetaceans but they can also aid in other species identification and abundance estimation such as large fishes. The use of photogrammetry can provide researchers with insights into a range of important conservation parameters for marine top-predators. For example, drone research has been shown to elucidate health status, morphometric, body condition, behaviour and impact of disturbance to highly mobile marine mammals. Researchers have even mapped the microbiome of a whale 'blow' with the help of innovative drones like "SnotBot". The potential to use technology in cetological research is boundless, from UAVs to pocket recording systems with mobile phone applications like our mobile phone recording app “O.R.C. Ireland Observers” App, technology also empowers citizen science projects and has the potential to revolutionize what we know about the ocean's inhabitants.

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