Sightings of common dolphins across the Hebrides have reached a record high, according to research conducted by a marine conservation charity. Expeditions by the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust in 2017 have revealed a 24 per cent increase on the previous year’s already record-breaking figures. Last year the trust recorded 93 sightings of common dolphins — its highest total ever, up from 75 in 2016.
The findings were made in a research season running from April to October 2017, part of the charity’s long-term citizen science project monitoring whales, dolphins, porpoises and basking sharks. “We have never documented so many sightings of common dolphins off Scotland’s west coast before,” Lauren Hartny-Mills, the science and policy officer for the trust, said. “It is hard to say