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‘Sea Watch Dolphin Guide’

 Two opportunities in Cardigan Bay for the 2015 summer season

 

The Sea Watch Foundation, in collaboration with Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips (DSBT) is seeking two part-time Sea Watch Dolphin Guides for the 2015 season. This position will suit volunteers who have a passion for marine conservation and recognise the importance of educating and raising awareness amongst the public.

 

The Dolphin Guide will be responsible for assisting DSBT with day-to-day public interactions on their tourist boat trips by:

 

• Presenting brief speeches on local wildlife (focussing on bottlenose dolphins) during the two hour trips
• Promoting the local marine code of conduct
• Providing brief histories of dolphins regularly encountered in the bay to passengers
• Answering passenger queries
• Liaising with SWF about events and activities to promote to interested passengers
• Social media activities surrounding trips and sightings for DSBT

 

 

The Dolphin Guide will be responsible for assisting Sea Watch with its operations by:

• Collecting scientific data on board the vessels
• Reporting sightings and  taking part in office-based data entry
• Educating passengers about the Cardigan Bay dolphins and research carried out by Sea Watch in the area
• Promoting the wider work of Sea Watch and the national sightings scheme
• Maintaining on board educational/promotional materials as well as ticket office displays
• Promotion of the SWF Adopt A Dolphin scheme, including signing up new adoptees and helping to maintain a blog
• Linking sightings and news events with the SWF Adopt A Dolphin scheme via social media

 

The season will run from May 25th to October 18th 2015. Accommodation is local and provided for free by DSBT in exchange for your volunteer time. The Sea Watch Dolphin Guides are responsible for their own travel and living expenses, but DSBT are offering additional part-time paid roles to supplement the guides’ income.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Important skills/qualifications

Essential:

• a strong interest in marine conservation and education
• confidence to interact with the public
• confidence on the water
• excellent communication skills
• must have initiative and bring their own ideas and personality to the position
• strong commitment to volunteering work
• an ability to work in an organised and reliable manner and to manage a variable workload
• an ability to get on well with others in a small team with different objectives
• willingness to share accommodation with other guide

 

Desirable:

• a background in marine biology/environmental science or similar
• a strong interest and knowledge of British cetaceans
• good IT skills (Office package)
• prior experience in public speaking
• prior experience with social media
• prior experience in boat-based survey work
• any boat based experience and or qualifications
• willingness to work long hours outdoors in often very changeable Welsh weather

 

 

Sea Watch Foundation will be offering their full support and training to the guides throughout the season. The season begins with a compulsory training week alongside SWF’s residential interns and shortly into the period, Sea Watch Dolphin Guides will be expected to attend SWF’s Cetacean Survey Training Course (June 13^th/14^th) as part of their development. Please note that this training is all provided for free as part of the role.

 

Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips provide an interesting and at times challenging workplace. Instruction on boat related safety at sea will be undertaken and if desired, nationally recognised boat-related safety courses will be offered at no cost. Volunteering with DSBT offers an invaluable experience of the non-intrusive wild dolphin watching industry, within a company with over fifty years of experience and a close association to a charity dedicated to raising awareness, knowledge and conservation of the marine wildlife.

 

 

The Sea Watch Foundation

 

The Sea Watch Foundation is a national marine environmental research charity that aims to achieve better conservation of whales and dolphins in the seas around Britain and Ireland, by involving the public in scientific monitoring of populations and the threats they face. It is the longest-running research charity in UK focusing upon cetaceans around the British Isles, and maintains a national sightings database, the largest in Europe. It works closely with all the UK statutory conservation agencies, and advises UK government, the UNEP Regional intergovernmental Conservation Agreement - ASCOBANS, the European Commission, as well as the major conservation charities and marine industries operating in the UK.

 

At Sea Watch Wales, we are dedicated to raising awareness, knowledge and conservation of the marine wildlife of the region. Our work is funded by Natural Resources Wales, Defra, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and Environment Wales; and we work closely with the local management authority, Ceredigion County Council.

 

Public awareness

 

We aim to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of the local marine wildlife and the habitats supporting them, to encourage respect and conservation of the area and its wildlife for future generations. We also run training courses for the public in cetacean identification and survey methods.

 

A list of recent of recent awareness and education achievements is given below:

• Sea Watch Director, Dr Peter Evans, received the European Cetacean Society Conservation Award in 2012
• Sea Watch Foundation is the only UK organisation to receive the UNEP/ASCOBANS “Outreach and Education Award” (in 2009)
• Sea Watch Foundation was voted best UK animal adoption scheme by BBC Wildlife, December 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips (New Quay)

 

New Quay Boats Trips was established by the current owner Winston Evans and his late father over 60 years ago. The picture below shows Winston as a young man on their first dedicated passenger boat purchased in the 1950s. They have both held the position of Coxwain of the New Quay Lifeboat and were both highly respected boat men. Winston received a bronze medal for bravery and was recognised in by HRH Queen Elizabeth for his lifetime of service to the RNLI.

 

 

 

It is not surprising then, to learn that safety at sea is an imperative for the company, these days we operate purpose built passenger boats which carry between 50 and 60 passengers at peak times. We are the only company on the coast which operates ‘Class VI’ passenger boats which conform to a higher level of safety requirement from the Maritime and Coastguard agency. All passengers and crew are fully insured and we carry lifejackets for all, in addition to the multi passenger life-rafts which thankfully we’ve never had to use. All staff undergo rigorous safety training and are qualified and trained to use the equipment aboard.

“New Quay Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips are in strict accordance with the marine code of conduct and contribute significantly to the protection of the Cardigan Bay bottlenose dolphin population” Danielle Gibas – former Sightings Officer, Sea Watch Foundation

 

Our association with Sea Watch is an important way of helping to protect the dolphins we treasure so much. The wildlife on and around our shores are of vital importance to the marine ecosystem. Only by studying their behaviour can we learn more about them and understand what human activities can affect them.