Media Release…Media Release…Media Release Immediate Release Ferry Company Helps Count Dolphins and Seals in the English Channel Dolphins and seals living in the English Channel won’t go unnoticed this summer when the ferry company, DFDS Seaways, provides free passage for MARINElife’s surveyors to discover how many of these little-known sea-faring mammals are living there. MARINElife, the UK-based marine wildlife charity, will be able to extend its vital marine conservation research on existing sailings operating from Dover to Dunkirk – and it’s hoped they will see Harbour Porpoises, a small dolphin-like animal which lives in shallower waters around the UK coastline. DFDS Seaways already supports MARINElife, a charity set up to monitor the populations and movements of cetaceans (the collective name for whales, dolphins and porpoises), seabirds and other marine life on three other routes from Felixstowe, Rosyth and Immingham. MARINElife will run monthly scientific surveys starting in June 2012 and sightings by a research surveyor blog will be posted on the MARINElife website (www.marine-life.org.uk). The data collected will contribute to a better understanding of the distribution and abundance of dolphins, porpoises, seals and seabirds in the English Channel. The research with DFDS Seaways contributes to a larger project operating on ferries around the UK coastline. Jesper Christensen, DFDS Seaways Plc representative involved in the project, said: “We are delighted to expand our help to MARINElife so they can further develop the understanding of the wildlife in the area. We look forward to hearing more about the wildlife encountered on these routes”. Jo Wharam, Trustee for MARINElife, said: “We really appreciate the continued support of DFDS Seaways. Ferries, or Ships of Opportunity as we refer to them, are a very convenient way of carrying out off-shore surveys. They allow us to access the same areas of ocean and monitor for changes over time – vital information which forms the basis of conservation decisions”. MARINElife Research Director Dr Tom Brereton, said “The waters around the UK are home to a large proportion of the European Harbour Porpoise population, a species whose conservation has been highlighted as important at a European level. Gathering data on the population status of this species around the UK is critical in being able to define how to best protect the species in the future.” ENDS For more information please contact: Jade Wilson DFDS Seaways Plc T: 0044 1732 779 087 E: dfdspr@westgatecomms.com Ed Drewitt, PR & Publicity MARINElife T: 0044 777 2342 758 E: ed.drewitt@marine-life.org.uk Editors’ notes: 1. MARINElife is a charity, established to co-ordinate and develop a growing portfolio of cetacean and seabird research and monitoring projects, chiefly in European Waters. Focal areas of work include whale, dolphin and seabird monitoring from ferries and other ‘ships of opportunity’, and research on Balearic Shearwaters, Bottlenose Dolphins and White-beaked Dolphins. Through these projects and collaborations, we aim to further the conservation of the wildlife of oceans and coasts through scientific investigation and educational activities. MARINElife continues to work in partnership with a number of other research groups, spearheading an international initiative, the Atlantic Research Coalition (ARC) that aims to describe changes in the status of whales and dolphins at a European scale. Further information on MARINElife can be found by visiting our website at marine-life.org.uk [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=885&F=T] and further information on the North East Cetacean Project can be found at northeastcetaceans.org.uk [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2978&F=T] 2. DFDS is Northern Europe’s leading integrated shipping and logistics network. DFDS Seaways passenger ferries and cruise-ferries operate between Copenhagen and Oslo [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2979&F=T], on the North Sea (Amsterdam-Newcastle [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2980&F=T] and Esbjerg-Harwich [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2981&F=T]), English channel (Dunkirk-Dover [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2982&F=T]), and the Baltic Sea (Kiel-Klaipeda [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2983&F=T [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2984&F=T [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2985&F=T]). The roll-on roll-off freight service operates across the North Sea, English Channel and Baltic Sea with additional container transport services operating through DFDS Logistics. Further information on DFDS Seaways can be found by visiting our website at dfdsseaways.co.uk [http://mailstudio.rock7.com/link.php?M=1713090&N=5126&L=2986&F=T] 3. DFDS Seaways’ passenger routes offer members of the public, as passengers, opportunities to see dolphins for themselves in the North Sea and the English Channel. 4.The Harbour Porpoise is our smallest cetacean in UK waters reaching no more than 1.7 metres and is usually found in small groups of 2 to 10 in more shallow waters around the coastline. It is difficult to spot and monitor as it only briefly surfaces often showing off little more than a glimpse of the dorsal fin which is best spotted in calm waters. Numbers vary annually but most sightings occur during late summer. For more information on the Harbour Porpoise, please visit: marine-life.org.uk/ceteaceans/harbour-porpoise 5. Members of the public can report their own sightings of dolphins, porpoises and whales seen off the south coast of England at marine-life.org.uk/charm-iii-project/how-you-can-help.