Ray Bonsall

raybonsall101@hotmail.co.uk

The citizen scientists shaping marine knowledge

In Scotland, residents are taking to social media to record sightings of whales and dolphins in local waters. This article explores how their findings are actively shaping academic research and facilitating the tracking of these marine mammals across vast distances, from Norway to Guadeloupe, simply using photos shared online. To research this piece, I spent five days in Fife, interviewing members of Forth Marine Mammals, an 11,000-strong Facebook group, dedicated to recording sightings in the Firth of Forth on the Scottish east coast. The article explores individuals’ motivations for joining the group, as well as offering insights from expert marine conservationists and charitable organisations on the group’s impact and what their findings can reveal about the health of Scottish waters and beyond. Amidst an intense wave of climate reporting, this piece offers a hopeful story, illustrating the profound findings that citizen-led collective action can achieve.