Dolphin Survey Boat Trips

Dolphin Survey Boat Trips (DSBT) is a family run operation and is the original ecotourism operation in New Quay, Wales and Cardigan Bay, taking paying passengers out to see the local marine wildlife. Dolphin Survey Boat Trips has been supporting marine conservation and operating boat trips out of New Quay for over 40 years.

Steve Hartley 

Steve runs Dolphin Survey Boat Trips, the original ecotourism operation in New Quay and Cardigan Bay, taking paying passengers out to see the local marine wildlife. He has over 40 years of experience running and operating boats in Cardigan Bay, now retired from active Lifeboat duty Steve was second coxswain on New Quays All weather lifeboat and served as a member of the Lifeboat crew for over 40 years.
 
Steve is passionate about his work and about the wildlife in Cardigan Bay. His passion ignited during his time spent on the water, initially as a fisherman and then as a charter boat operator. During this time Steve was amazed at the wealth of wildlife in Cardigan Bay and the wider Irish Sea and wanted to share this passion so in 1996 he founded the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC) in order to raise awareness of the wildlife found in the bay.
 
Steve has been involved in surveying the resident population, of around 250 bottlenose dolphins in Cardigan Bay from Dolphin Survey Boat Trips original boat, Sulaire for over 40 years. Steve was also involved in setting up the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) designated to help protect the bays semi-resident bottlenose dolphins.
 
Find out more about Dolphin Survey Boat Trips from Steve below.

Interview with Steve Hartley...

So Steve, how long have you been involved with the cetaceans of Cardigan Bay and what got you interested?

I first developed an interest in cetaceans when I was a commercial fisherman based here more than 40 years ago , I was fascinated by all the marine life I was seeing off the Welsh coast whilst out at sea. I then became more involved in scientific research efforts, taking various scientists out on surveys covering Cardigan Bay and the Irish Sea in the 1980s. In the early 1990s I started an angling operation and soon discovered that I was far more interested in watching the wildlife, the whales and dolphins than I was in taking people out to catch fish just so they could photograph themselves with their catch! After that a friend suggested that I start running wildlife-watching trips for the paying public and this is how Dolphin Survey Boat Trips (DSBT) began and how the public going out on our boat trips help to fund important marine research. Around this time I also set up the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC).


What research have you been involved in?

Over the years I’ve been involved as boatman for a number of surveys in Cardigan Bay and the Irish Sea. In the 1980’s I took scientists out to carry out hydrophone and dolphin photo-ID surveys. Currently, the main focus of our research is the photo-ID of bottlenose dolphins in Cardigan Bay. In 2005 we produced the first Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC) Bottlenose Dolphin Photo-Identification Catalogue. In this we identified over 130 individual dolphins. This is an ongoing project and the catalogue is updated annually.

What wildlife, other than the bottlenose dolphins, do you see in the area?

Cardigan Bay is fantastic for marine wildlife. As well as bottlenose dolphins we also find harbour porpoises locally and Atlantic grey seals (which also breed in the area), we also have occasional sightings of common dolphins and Minke whales. The birdlife is excellent with Manx shearwaters, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, gulls, cormorants, shags, gannets, peregrines and choughs to name a few species. The Irish Sea is also a great area for Risso’s dolphins, basking sharks, sunfish, jellyfish and the occasional leatherback turtle!

What have you learned about the habits and distribution of bottlenose dolphins in the Bay?

One of the main things that we’ve learnt are that there are particularly important feeding areas for the dolphins in the Bay, especially around headlands. We also believe that the dolphins may come here to calve in the relative shelter that Cardigan Bay provides. However, we really need to carry out more surveys further afield to find out other important areas for the dolphins and other marine wildlife.


What are the main threats to cetaceans and other wildlife in the area?

The main threat to cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) anywhere is a shortage of food due to overfishing. In Cardigan Bay, this is not so much of a problem as the local fishing industry is generally small scale and has relatively little impact. I am concerned, however, about the catch of migratory fish outside the Bay, which would normally come into the area. Inappropriate boating behaviour around the dolphins is also a problem. The commercial dolphin watching operators in the area act according to a voluntary marine code of conduct, but private vessels can still cause problems, especially by disturbing animals in important and sensitive feeding areas. As with everywhere else, industrial pollution may also be a problem with toxic materials bio-accumulating up the food chain ultimately affecting top predators like the dolphins.

What are your hopes for the Bay and the dolphins for the future?

I really hope that efforts to protect Cardigan Bay and the marine wildlife we find will continue so that everyone can enjoy it. The conservation of the Bay should be carried out in conjunction with local people and local organisations like ​The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW) and not to outside organisations dictating from a distance. Community ownership is the key to common-sense conservation. I would also like to see wider education of potential disturbance of wildlife with boat users in the area, awareness on how to act sensitively around the dolphins and other wildlife in order to prevent disturbance of the wonderful creatures found here.

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