Pádraig Hooley

We would say in the Irish Whale and Daffron group that we're seeing these animals arriving and particularly, you know, with bastion sharks and as well with humpback whales, we are seeing them.

The trend would suggest that they're arriving earlier year on year.

So that's one obvious trend.

Also, you know, there are species that we, you know, that, you know, places like where I'm from, West Cork,

for the last 30 years and 20 years, it was all, if you want to see humpback whales and finned whales, go to West Cork.

And they shifted then around to West Kerry.

In the last three or four years, the data is suggesting strongly that they've completely shifted their distribution up towards the Northwest, places like Donegal Bay.

So these are animals that are certainly, I would say, on the move.

Now, whether that's down to climate change is probably a factor in that.

or it's depletion of what they're feeding on species like Sprat, that could as well be an issue.

But it is very dynamic.

Year on year, there are subtle changes.

But the overall trend, especially with our larger whales, would seem to be that they are pushing further and further up the West Coast, up to places like the Sligo Coast and Donegal, which is great if you're from the Northwest and you're sick and tired of coming down to whale watching boats down on the South Coast.

It's very democratic of them.