Cornwall & Devon top survey for most number of whale sightings

Cornwall and South Devon are among the regions with the highest number of whale and dolphin sightings in the UK. >More species have been spotted around the country than ever before according to a new survey from the Sea Watch Foundation. In the South West short-beaked common dolphins and risso dolphins were seen the most often.

Offshore waters saw the highest species diversity with six species recorded in Cornwall. Meanwhile the South-Eastern and North-Western coasts of England recorded the lowest numbers of sightings.

South Devon also had sighting rates within at least 1 per hour of watching. In comparison, the national average is one cetacean seen every two hours of watching.

Common dolphins were the third most abundant species recorded in the research.. The largest group, 150 of them, was recorded between Falmouth and Lizard Point in Cornwall.