University of Plymouth Marine Vertebrate Conservation Unit

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Marine vertebrate conservation research unit based at the University of Plymouth. We work on marine mammals, seabirds and fish.

Part of the South Coast Bottlenose Dolphin Consortium

31/10/2026

Presenting our research findings of in the at the Society for Marine Mammal Biennial conference in Puerto Rico and catching up with University of Plymouth alumni:
(1) Prof Clare Embling presenting a poster on the first study of cetaceans in the Chagos MPA
(2 & 3) Dr Udayanga Hatharasingha receiving best student long talk for Asia on humpback whale song in the Chagos MPA
(4 & 8) Some of the team researching cetaceans in the Indian Ocean - Clare & Udayanga, & with Udayanga's main supervisor Asha de Vos of Oceanswell
(5) Clare with School of Biological and Marine Sciences alumni Caulvyn Bristol, now researching manatees
(6) Clare with our Sri Lankan stats & acoustics course alumni Dinal Meecle, now researching birds in Puerto Rico
(7) Clare with University of Plymouth marine biology alumni Professor Karen Stockin who leads animal welfare research into cetaceans at Massey University, New Zealand
(9) Clare with the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation team

All thanks to funding from The Bertarelli Foundation Marine Science

15/09/2026

Final day of our final University of Plymouth marine mammal survey from the university yacht Take the Helm - supported by students, we survey the south coast of the UK for , & .

Beautiful sail in breezy seas 🌊 from back to accompanied by yet more common dolphins, a porpoise and a beautiful encounter with a pod of white-beaked dolphins. And of course not forgetting the seabirds spotted including many juvenile gannets, Manx shearwaters, guillemots and various gull species.

Passed a beautiful tall ship Bessie Ellen at Rame Head as we sailed back into Plymouth Sound, the end of our 'common dolphin soup' survey, and the last of TEN marine mammal surveys this summer from Brighton to the Channel Islands & Scilly Isles.

Thank you to all the School of Biological and Marine Sciences students who have supported the trips this summer ☀️... watch this space for our new winter surveys!

(Dolphin videos to follow)

10/09/2026

Day 4 of our University of Plymouth marine mammal and seabird survey from Take the Helm.

The day started leaving in perfect clear conditions. Despite encountering a fair amount of rain squalls we had many fantastic sightings of common and leaping TWICE. We made our way through St Austell bay which was busy with birds and dolphins and we started the evening anchored in Lantic Bay which was beautiful. However it was quite rolly which resulted in some rocky tummies and so we retreated to harbour to have a lovely dinner on the boat.

Blog by visiting PhD student Rosie Day, who is using our acoustic recordings of the whistles common dolphins to compare with Scottish common dolphin whistles... do they speak with the same dialect? Watch this space to find out!

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Plymouth Marine Station

08/09/2026

Day one & two of the final summer survey on University of Plymouth yacht Take the Helm ☀️⚓️

We set of early Sunday morning from zig zagging all the way to harbour. On the way we had a lot of common sightings including some bow riding and breaching. We spotted many different including a rare sighting of a tropic bird ! We ended the night with a nice walk around Fowey .

Day two was full of more common dolphin sightings. We had many groups take an interest in the boat staying with us as we sailed. We ended the day by anchoring in the river and taking a quick dip after dinner.

Post by Amelia Frisby final year BSc Marine Biology student.

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Plymouth Marine Station

28/08/2026

Day 3 blog by Anna Kelsey, 2nd year Ecology & Conservation student 🌱

Today we started the day surveying after leaving our mooring in Hugh town, on St Mary’s. It was fairly choppy as we travelled around St. Agnes and St. Mary’s, before heading out through the north west passage. Here we spotted lots of seabirds again including fulmars, and then a small pod of common dolphins. Another great find was two ocean ! We spent the rest of the day dipping between the other islands to survey. We paused our survey to anchor on the east side of Great Ganilly, decided to have a swim and spotted some grey seals! 🦭 It was amazing swimming so close to such beautiful and curious creatures!! After this we sailed back around to St. Martin’s where we dropped anchor for the night in between St. Martins and Tean. We had a yummy curry and then made our way to shore for a pint with some great company!

26/08/2026

Day 1 Blog post 😎 El Barrett - placement year Conservation Biology

After meeting up and a lovely first evening having fish and chips for dinner, we made for Take The Helm, preparing for the day ahead.

An early start was followed by a steady sail along the Southern Coast line. We saw flocks of sea birds including Storm petrels, Manx shearwaters, Gannets, adorable Guillemots and Fulmars.
It wasn’t long until we caught sight of the Isles of Scilly, and were welcomed by a pod of Common dolphins 🐬 , leaping and bow riding beneath us.
Take the Helm was moored in St. Mary’s Harbour and we enjoyed a relaxed dinner of pasta with the sunset :) A great first day, we’re all looking forward to more!

22/08/2026

Blog by Megan Maleed , final year Ocean Science & Marine Conservation student 🐬

After a quick breakfast we set sail leaving the beautiful Great Ganilly and adventured along and around the archipelago of the Isle of Scilly. Despite the conditions not in our favour for spotting therefore not seeing any cetaceans today, we were spoiled with other marine life including some Grey Seals laying on the rocks, a Mola Mola, and a plethora of different species of seabirds. This included species we hadn’t seen much of including the Fulmar and Cory’s shearwater, even a bird of prey before heading further offshore, we believed to be a Buzzard. By the early evening we moored up in the Tresco Channel in between the two islands of Bryher and Tresco. We had a refreshing group sea swim dip and then headed ashore onto Bryher to have a lovely dinner and drinks celebrating Emily’s birthday! We then finished the day on the boat doing some stargazing with a hot chocolate before heading to bed. A perfect conclusion to the day and a perfect way to spend a birthday on Take the Helm!

19/08/2026

Day 2 by Emily Button, 2nd year Marine Biology student

We had a super exciting start waking up in Mousehole bay and seeing common dolphins jumping around the water surrounded by gannets! We set off from Mousehole with the hope of arriving at the Isles of Scilly. With a pretty rocky journey we successfully moored at Great Ganilly which was surrounded with over 50 grey seals! Although we saw no cetaceans after the first sighting, along our travels we saw a mola mola and some jellyfish! After anchoring we had a yummy chilli and went for a sunset sea swim! Then watching the sunset and stargazing in our sleeping bags, we went to bed after a super lovely day!

18/08/2026

Blog Day 1 by Millie Taylor, 2nd year Marine Biology & Coastal Ecology student:

We started our first day by promptly leaving Plymouth to begin our long journey ahead, making use of the good weather!

Our first survey started off calm with ideal conditions, which allowed us to learn the ropes for surveying and getting to know all the sea birds that would soon become very familiar to us all! Not long into the day we saw a large splash in the distance from a dolphin that we couldn’t ID, but got us very excited! Throughout the rest of the day we saw a couple pods of common , including a little calf that popped up to greet us, as well as some Risso’s dolphins and porpoises, in between many gannets and Manx shearwater.

After a long day of sailing, we finally arrived at Mousehole where we enjoyed a well-deserved dinner and some stargazing. A perfect start to the week!

29/07/2026

Day 4: Burgh Island to Cawsand

Hannah on blog duty oceanic_hannah:

Waking to the unmistakable calls of oystercatchers off Burgh Island, we were greeted by another beautifully calm, blue morning. After a proper coffee brewed in Isha’s cafetière, we raised anchor at 08:20, ready for another day at sea.

Not long after departure, we passed a fishing vessel with what looked like a very successful catch, judging by the flock of gulls and shags eagerly following in its wake, the sea state like crumpled silk stretching to the horizon.

The first porpoise appeared at 09:00 as I took the helm, steering 240°. Two Manx shearwaters sped past at 09:30, followed by seven Risso’s dolphins diving together ten minutes later.

The excitement continued with a huge feeding aggregation of Manx shearwaters and gulls, a sure sign of life beneath the surface. At 11:06 we spotted a blue shark, and just twelve minutes later dolphins arrived, delighting us by bow riding until 11:33.

By midday we reached the iconic Eddystone Lighthouse. The highlight of the day a group of Risso’s dolphins appeared, bow riding and playing alongside us in an unforgettable display. A mother and calf were part of the larger group which delighted us all.

The afternoon carried us past Rame Head and across Whitsand Bay, with more porpoises making an appearance before we dropped anchor in the sheltered waters of Cawsand.

Cooling off with a final swim in the sea, we had a delicious dinner courtesy of Emmie and Carly. An idyllic end to the day.

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