All we are saying, is give porps a chance!

Hi Cliff,
small numbers of porpoise in the sound yesterday.
Plenty of boats and as a footnote to recent comments may I add the following Recent postings from me and others highlighting boat behaviour have upset even enraged operators who have felt called guilty without proof.
Following a constuctive meeting with Tom Luddington I have agreed not to post any more comment regarding boat behaviour in Ramsey Sound but to fill out the appropriate PMCG forms.
This done, Tom has shown evidence of code breakage and it was a agreed by the operator to be proven and the appropriate follow up action as been initiated.

I am a marine mammal researcher with plenty of paperwork to fill in but I cannot sit and see and not report bad working practice, so I will, as much as possible, make the time if needs be to fill in the forms and send in evidence, as I did yesterday, 4 reports which are being followed up in the appropriate manner, the last word from me in this blog on the subject, cheers Malcolm.

It seems to me that if there were no evidence of poor behaviour there would be no reports of it in the Blog. I have no axe to grind. I want the public to see our wildlife because in doing so they begin to understand what we are trying to protect.

Above is a dead porpoise calf I photographed on Newport Sands this morning I was with Rod Penrose of the Welsh Marine Mammal Strandings Agency and we picked this animal up after being informed by a member of the public.

It was Rods opinion that the injuries were consistent with propellor strike, a spiral chopping motoion by a sharp blade which on contact with the animal disembowelled and killed it almost instantly. It seemed to have been in the water several days so could have travelled some distance. Either Newquay or Ramsay sound might well fall within the parameters, or anywhere between.

We dont know who killed it, probably even the person who killed it never knew they had done so. I received another report of a porpoise calf found dead on Abermawr Beach, apparently its bottom jaw was smashed off. Rod was going on from Newport to try and find it, it remains to be seen if this was another incidence of boat strike.