SBOHVM Team work with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust on sold out event
Published: 31 October 2025
Researchers showcase the various elements of marine research and scientists in UofG SBOHVM, all of whom promote different dimensions of marine environmental research and community engagement.
On the 23rd of October, Dr Anna McGregor, Ellie MacLennan and Mariel ten Doeschate joined the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) for a public talk at the An Tobar theatre, as part of their monthly ‘Whales & Wines’ evening lecture series on Mull. Involving 4 short talks followed by a Q&A, this sold out event was focused on engagement with the local community, both promoting conversation about the marine environment and finding collaborative, meaningful actions that can be taken to protect it.
Anna highlighted the importance of restoring coastal habitats to support healthy ecosystems, and shared her positive efforts to improve education and policy and stimulate potential possibilities for economic growth in coastal areas and communities, through a focus on cultural connections with native oysters.
Although unfortunately struck by COVID and contributing through recorded presentation, Ellie presented their inspiring collaboration with the Scottish Entanglement Alliance that shows how engaging with, and supporting, the Scottish creel fishing community can result in developing sustainable industry-led mitigation strategies to reduce entanglement risk for cetacean. Their short film ‘the Creel Deal’ shares the first-hand accounts of creelers interested in working with researchers to change practices through using sinking groundline rather than the floating version. Underwater video of this in use really drove home how much better this gear change is.
Finally, Mariel talked about the challenges of collecting strandings surveillance data and highlighted the value of the Beach Track app development. Ideal for use in a community like Mull, with many people very aware of their local coastal place, Beach Track is a mobile phone app that supports SMASS data collection while offering broader insights into beach conditions, cleanliness, and survey coverage along Scotland’s coastline.
This event showcased the various elements of marine research and scientists in UofG SBOHVM, all of whom promote different dimensions of marine environmental research and community engagement. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect, share ideas, and build momentum for community-led conservation, and engagement with the several community-based projects that both HWDT, Anna, Ellie and Mariel are involved in.
First published: 31 October 2025
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