One of the largest gatherings of porpoises in many years has been recorded in the waters off Arran.
The Clyde Marine Mammal Project, which collates and receives sightings of megafauna in the Clyde and surrounding waters, has reported a dense gathering of porpoises off the coast of Arran in what it describes as ‘porpoise soup’. Detected by passive acoustic monitoring, the pod – estimated to be between 25 and 30 individuals – was heard at dusk between Kings Cross and Pladda where they filled the observation screens with a dense grouping of red dots, indicating a large concentration of the mammals. The recording was made last month.
Harbour porpoises and common dolphin, as well as bottlenose dolphin, are frequently seen off the Arran coast, as reported by various observers on the island, but a grouping this large is unusual. The porpoises were detected in the South Arran Marine Protected Area (MPA), which was designated in July 2014 and forbids the removal of any marine life.