Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit

19/05/2026

12/05/2026

We have just released the first version of our Photo ID app for other research groups and even for public use! 🎉

The app is a research tool that can be used for photo identification studies, such as in longitudinal mark-recapture research. It allows for the grouping of photos containing unique identification markings, includes tools for editing and visually filtering photographs to help identify marks, and can be integrated with an analysis provider (such as a machine learning model) for convenient catalogue matching. It's free, open-source, and available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

For more information visit:
photoidapp.crru.org.uk

29/04/2026

YOU DID IT!!! Thank you ALL so much for helping us to hit our Big Give Earth Raise target at https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05WS00000CU7y2YAD!!!! The timing of this funding aligns perfectly with the start of our 2026 field season, providing essential resources necessary for data collection, enabling the CRRU team to enhance it's research capabilities, including supporting student projects and data analysis.

We are absolutely delighted by ALL the support for this project and look forward to sharing the outcomes of this work with you in the months ahead! Thank you and thank you again for your support!!! ###

28/04/2026

Last chance to donate! 🫶🏼

Our Big Give campaign has matched funding! Which means your donation means twice as much to us. 🥰

The field season is almost upon us, and this funding is crucial to supporting our essential marine research efforts. 🔬

🔗 Link in bio. Give now.

28/04/2026

Last 24 hrs to DOUBLE your donation for CRRU! Please help us to reach our target (currently standing at 62%!). Thank u for your support!!! 😍😍😍😍😍

Support for ongoing, long-term monitoring studies, crucial to our understanding of the ecology of Scottish whales and dolphins, enabling a …

27/04/2026

Delighted to share that Holly has completed her BSc thesis with CRRU, for which she has received a distinction! 🥳 🙌 🎓

Holly recently finished her undergraduate dissertation on predicting calving and nursery areas for bottlenose dolphins frequenting the outer southern Moray Firth. This is such an important area of research and can now be found under Scientific Publications on our website 🐬 📚 �

Here’s what Holly had to say about her experience working with CRRU:
“Completing my undergraduate dissertation with CRRU under the supervision of Kev was a really exciting and rewarding experience. Having access to their extensive, long-term bottlenose dolphin dataset allowed me to investigate a research question that I was genuinely interested in and passionate about, and I am extremely grateful for that opportunity. The support I received from CRRU throughout the entire process was invaluable, with help learning and navigating new data analysis tools, and guidance throughout each stage of the writing process. Their expertise and encouragement shaped my project in such a positive way, and I am so thankful to have completed my dissertation with the help of their wonderful team.”�

We’re so proud of Holly and delighted to have supported her on this journey. Please join us in congratulating her on this fantastic achievement! 👏 💙�

By donating to our Big Give campaign, you’ll be helping future students like Holly gain valuable hands-on research experience, access vital long-term datasets, and develop the skills needed to become the next generation of marine scientists and conservationists. Every gift makes a real difference. �
If you’d like to support our work, please follow the link below. Every donation is doubled for the next 3 days!!
�https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05WS00000CU7y2YAD

26/04/2026

It was a pleasure to see so many CRRU staff and volunteers at ECS this week, here are just a few of them! CRRU has acted as springboard for the careers of so many and it is amazing to see how everyone is developing💙🐬👋

🚨There are now just 3 DAYS LEFT for donations to our BigGive campaign to be matched!🚨 We appreciate that times are tough right now, and we are so grateful for any donations, big or small, as everything helps towards funding our cetacean research in the Moray Firth. If you feel you can contribute, please follow the link below or in our bio and thank you 🐋🐟🛥️

https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05WS00000CU7y2YAD

25/04/2026

‼️ 4 DAYS LEFT TO DOUBLE YOUR DONATION ‼️

For the next 4 days, every donation to our BigGive Campaign will be matched, meaning your gift goes twice as far. 🐋

Your support helps fund vital cetacean rescue, life saving research, education and protection for Scotland’s marine life.

DONATE TODAY TO MAKE TWICE THE IMPACT.
https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05WS00000CU7y2YAD 💚