0:00:02 > 0:00:05'A wild ocean, teeming with life,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08'the sun in the sky and a crazy dog for company.'
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Rubes...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12'Just another day at the office.'
0:00:13 > 0:00:18This is the coast of Connemara in the west of Ireland.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Some of the largest animals on the planet migrate through these waters.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25That was moderately close.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29And on land, the people are a special breed too.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Cheers, mate. Whoo!
0:00:33 > 0:00:37For the next six months, I'm going back to my roots as a marine biologist
0:00:37 > 0:00:40working for an Irish whale and dolphin conservation group.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44- You don't want to burst the intestines cos it gets very messy then.- Yeah.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46GAS ESCAPES NOISILY
0:00:46 > 0:00:49It's the chance of a lifetime, to discover more
0:00:49 > 0:00:52about the extraordinary animals swimming off our shores.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And it's great fun, did I mention it was great fun?
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Yes, whoo-hoo!
0:00:58 > 0:00:59Fantastic!
0:01:09 > 0:01:12It's mid-April as Reuben and I leave our Bristol home
0:01:12 > 0:01:16and head off on a new adventure into one of the wildest
0:01:16 > 0:01:19and most beautiful parts of Europe.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24If you go to the very western edge of Europe, you get Ireland.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28And if you go to the western edge of Ireland, you get Galway.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30And if you go to the western edge of Galway, you get Connemara.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34And on the western edge of Connemara, dipping its toes
0:01:34 > 0:01:37in the wild waters of the Atlantic, is Roundstone
0:01:37 > 0:01:42and just tucked in next to Roundstone is this tiny little island, Inishnee Island,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46and it's where Reuben and I are spending the next six months.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50By the time I leave, in October, the people who live on this remote coast
0:01:50 > 0:01:53will be battening down the hatches again for winter.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58In the meantime, I can look forward to a long and hopefully hot summer
0:01:58 > 0:02:01with the regattas, festivals, the culture...
0:02:03 > 0:02:06And, of course, the wildlife.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12They have significant hare issues on the island, there we go.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14I mean, look at the size of that.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16What do you think, Rubes?
0:02:16 > 0:02:19HE LAUGHS
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Rubes thinks he's died and gone to heaven.
0:02:21 > 0:02:27We're going to be in that little cottage that looks out over the sea and he'll be surrounded by hares.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31So this, I think, is what dog heaven looks like.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Rubes, ready?
0:02:39 > 0:02:42He's just mesmerised with the hares.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Where are the hares, Rubes?
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Right, let's go and explore.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49And in we go.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Oh, beautiful, beautiful.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Do you know one of the nice things about this?
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Straight away it's like being on board ship,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03you've got all this old wood
0:03:03 > 0:03:07and there's a real whiff of the sea about it and the old pictures.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10What do you think, Rubes. Eh?
0:03:10 > 0:03:11RUBES BARKS
0:03:11 > 0:03:14I'm doing this inside but I can't...
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Eh, look where we are.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20'The place is basic, but a few home comforts will go a long way.'
0:03:20 > 0:03:22There you go, Rubes.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Is that all right for you? Anything else we can get you?
0:03:26 > 0:03:28I think the great thing about this place
0:03:28 > 0:03:33is when you step outside, what you're looking at.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35There's the village of Roundstone.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I think it's really evocative, looking over a stretch of water
0:03:38 > 0:03:40towards a village, and to see the lights twinkling
0:03:40 > 0:03:43in the evening of this vibrant, little fishing community.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51The village of Roundstone dates back nearly 200 years,
0:03:51 > 0:03:56but there have been people living on this coast for thousands of years.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02The word Connemara translates as "community of the sea",
0:04:02 > 0:04:08so as a marine biologist, I feel like I've found my spiritual home.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11My first task, after settling in, is to stake out my patch
0:04:11 > 0:04:14and that means a quick hike to the top of Errisbeg,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17a lone hill in a flat patchwork of bog and sea.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27Behind me is a wilderness, Connemara is a world famous wilderness.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31But, for me, the real wilderness is out there.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34That's the Atlantic, that's one of the great oceans of the world
0:04:34 > 0:04:37and that's my beat, that's where the giants are,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41and that's why I'm desperate to get out there and get on with the job.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Later in the summer I can expect to see sharks,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49basking sharks that migrate through these waters
0:04:49 > 0:04:51scooping up cavernous mouthfuls of plankton,
0:04:51 > 0:04:57and blue sharks that travel as many as 3,000 miles to feed here.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01I'll be working on projects to tag them and to track their movements.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04But first there are the cetaceans,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07the marine mammals that include whales and dolphins.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Ever since I was a little kid, I've dreamed of studying a population of dolphins and of whales
0:05:12 > 0:05:17and of giant animals off the coast of a beautiful little fishing port
0:05:17 > 0:05:20in a wild region, and here I am, Connemara.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26And the great thing is, no-one has ever studied this coastline in any detail.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Everything I do will add new data from this area.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35But before I do anything else, I need to check in at the office.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group is based a few hours south of me,
0:05:39 > 0:05:40in the town of Kilrush.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48I've come down just to, to get a kind of briefing about what work I can realistically do
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and that's the key I think. I don't want to play at it,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56I actually do want to do something that will help
0:05:56 > 0:05:59research into the dolphins and whales on the west coast of Ireland.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01There it is. Behave yourself, pal.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Come on then, big fella.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Right, be nice, Rubes, you're essentially meeting my boss,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Come on, Rubes, you've got to make a good impression.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16'My new boss is Dr Simon Berrow, co-ordinator of the IWDG.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20'This is pretty intimidating. Simon's an expert on whales and dolphins,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22'while I know about as much as Reuben does.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26- 'Maybe that's why Simon makes a beeline for him.'- Star of the show!
0:06:26 > 0:06:28That's an increasingly common conversation, that is.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Nice to see you, Simon, how are you?
0:06:30 > 0:06:35I should point out to you very hastily, Simon, that although my background is marine biology,
0:06:35 > 0:06:40I am by no stretch of the imagination a cetacean expert,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43so this is really stage one for me of trying to learn.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47'This is just the excuse Simon needs to start my cetacean education.'
0:06:47 > 0:06:50I take this round schools and I put kids' heads...
0:06:50 > 0:06:52I say, "Put your head inside the mouth of a killer whale."
0:06:52 > 0:06:55They go, "You'll drop it on my head." "I won't," and then I do!
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Here's something that a friend presented to me in his wife's pasta jar,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01turn it, twist it round a bit more.
0:07:02 > 0:07:03No, it's an eyeball!
0:07:03 > 0:07:06- It's the eyeball of a fin whale, you know.- Good grief!
0:07:06 > 0:07:11This is a bottlenose dolphin's skull but when you take these round to kids,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15kids think it's a crocodile or a dinosaur. We're talking whales and dolphins here.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18I mean, I take this around the schools and I say, "What's this?"
0:07:18 > 0:07:19They go, "Oh, it's a dinosaur."
0:07:19 > 0:07:23And you say, "You would have seen one on the way to school, it's a cow."
0:07:23 > 0:07:27And the idea of being a marine mammal and a terrestrial mammal and how the marine mammals
0:07:27 > 0:07:31adapted with the nostrils moving on top of the head.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35In all, more than 20 species of whale and dolphin can be found in Irish waters.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39But little is known about the populations off my coastline.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41In Connemara, you're going to have a lot of strandings
0:07:41 > 0:07:44and you'll find rotten corpses lying on an island,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46thinking what in the name of God is that?
0:07:46 > 0:07:51With a bit of training, you'll be able to identify those with total reliability.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54And you collate a database of the species that are stranded?
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Yeah, Connemara's always been a struggle
0:07:56 > 0:07:59and there must be a lot more things happening, more strandings
0:07:59 > 0:08:03and we don't really hear about it so your presence up there will act as a focus
0:08:03 > 0:08:05and will push the thing on a bit more.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Brilliant, that's the idea, to be your man in Connemara.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Any information I can collect in Connemara will be new.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Simon's whale and dolphin research covers the whole of Ireland, North and South,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19but this is an area where little research has been done.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24His main focus is right on his doorstep.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29The Shannon Estuary is home to the only resident pod of bottlenose dolphins in the whole of Ireland.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34A very incongruous environment for dolphins to be in, if you think about it.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38The Shannon Estuary is quite industrialised, as you can see,
0:08:38 > 0:08:43and if you were in that water you wouldn't be able to see your hand in front of your face.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47That's one of the reasons the dolphins love it here!
0:08:47 > 0:08:51There's all sorts of nutrients, it's an estuary, full of life.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Limited visibility doesn't bother a dolphin,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59they've got their extraordinary echo location.
0:08:59 > 0:09:05They've got a set of tools that makes them the dominant predator in this environment.
0:09:06 > 0:09:14Simon's been intensively studying this pod of dolphins out here for many years
0:09:14 > 0:09:18and I've got the great opportunity of gathering all that knowledge off him,
0:09:18 > 0:09:24and hopefully applying that knowledge to any dolphins I find off Connemara.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27As well as monitoring the 20,000 visitors each year
0:09:27 > 0:09:29to make sure they don't overly disturb the dolphins,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33he's building up information about the population,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36using all the science at his disposal.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39The acoustic listening devices he and his colleague, Joanne O'Brien, are deploying
0:09:39 > 0:09:45record the presence of nearby animals and I'll be using the same kit for my research in Connemara.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48All right, Simon.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53You can see Simon and Joanne are really taking their time in getting this right.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58That's about 12,000 euros' worth of kit they're putting over the side there.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01You all right? One, two, three! Oh, that'll do.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06'The information is recorded on tiny memory cards,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10'the rest of the pod is filled with the batteries that keep it powered for months at a time.'
0:10:10 > 0:10:15I'm keenly aware that I'm going to be doing it soon in Connemara with their gear,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and it'd be a disaster if they got lost.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21And it would be absolutely invaluable to them
0:10:21 > 0:10:24if they stay where they are and they gather the data.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Simon's research in the Shannon goes back 18 years,
0:10:30 > 0:10:34but there's evidence that the resident pod has been here for centuries.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Ancient texts refer to an animal called the Cathach or "Shannon monster".
0:10:38 > 0:10:42They talk about seeing these fins cutting through the water.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45They talk about seeing them blow, the fire from the belly of the monster.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- Sounds like bottlenose dolphins. - Sounds very much like dolphins.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53This myth goes back to St Senan from the sixth century. We could argue, with no evidence whatsoever,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56that dolphins have been here possibly thousands of years.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Sadly, no such records exist for Connemara,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03but Simon has thrown down the gauntlet, starting research from scratch
0:11:03 > 0:11:08and his priority is photo ID, taking pictures of the tell-tale marks
0:11:08 > 0:11:12and scratches that clearly identify each dolphin.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18You know, it's such a powerful tool.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21It's great fun as well, it's like hunting actually.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24But for bottlenose dolphins, so many of them carry unique markings,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27probably because they're bashing off each other.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Roundstone, Connemara, the second best place for bottlenose dolphins,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- after the Shannon, in Ireland. - Right.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39It's a species you will encounter a lot, it's a species that we'd like a lot of work done on.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43The drive home is ample time to reflect.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46As well as photo ID-ing the local dolphin population,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49I'm also hoping to tag basking sharks as part of a national survey,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and to help out with strandings.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58The coastline I'll be working is a notorious patchwork of reefs and rocky inlets,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02and I'm worried if I'm left to my own devices I'll wreck the rib.
0:12:02 > 0:12:08So for my first trip out, I'm putting myself in the hands of THE local expert.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Nice to meet you.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Everyone I've spoken to locally said there's one man you need
0:12:16 > 0:12:18to take out and show you the ropes.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23He wasn't available so we had to go out with Martin here!
0:12:23 > 0:12:27'The man taking it all in good humour is Martin O'Malley.'
0:12:27 > 0:12:30That particular rock from there to Inishlacken,
0:12:30 > 0:12:34there's a line of reefs that run about to where the boat is there.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38'His proud boast is that he shares his surname with Grace O'Malley,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41'a notorious pirate queen of the 16th century,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45'whose ruined castle still surveys the bay.'
0:12:47 > 0:12:51She held sway over these waters where Martin now works as a fisherman,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53coastguard and powerboat instructor.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57- So we're heading to Slyne? - Slyne Head.- Slyne Head.- Yeah.- Right.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59I've seen it on the chart,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03obviously it sort of juts out very spectacularly.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09That's right. As you can see, it's dotted with reefs...
0:13:09 > 0:13:11- Yeah.- ..between here and Slyne Head.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15- So we'll go towards Slyne Head inside the islands.- Fantastic.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19This is the point where my healthy sense of self-preservation
0:13:19 > 0:13:22insists that I hand over the wheel to Martin.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27If I was doing this I'd be doing about the same speed as a punt,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30be going very slowly indeed.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Really dangerous area this.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39It's full of these little hazards popping up everywhere, isn't it?
0:13:39 > 0:13:40It is, yeah.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47My emotions are a little difficult to put into words at the moment.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53I've got a vice-like grip on the handle here.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59Martin does have this exhilarating thing of thundering straight at rock walls at enormous speed.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Watch this. Whoo!
0:14:07 > 0:14:09HE LAUGHS
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Sorry.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Good work.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19I was always confident. I was always confident.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20I wasn't nervous, even for a second.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23- We had a nice pod of orcas here last year.- Really?
0:14:23 > 0:14:26- Yeah, just closer to Slyne Head. - Yeah.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29'In the next bay, the reason for the orcas' interest becomes clear.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33'It's packed with some killer whales' favourite foods.'
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Look at that. Plenty of grey seals around, plenty of commons.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Good spot for 'em, grand spot for 'em.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43But Simon's priority is finding and ID-ing dolphins,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46so after a brief look at Slyne Head, the westernmost part of my beat,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49it's time for me to take the wheel for the run home.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52What about dolphins and things?
0:14:52 > 0:14:53There are fairly... I've seen them...
0:14:53 > 0:14:56half the times I was out this year, I've seen dolphins.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58- Oh, really?- Yes. - Oh, that's terrific.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02There's usually a pod of about, maybe 14, 16.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06That'd be great for me because then you establish a relationship with them,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10and you know, you get to know the animals and identify them, photograph and things like that.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Oh, well I can keep a...
0:15:12 > 0:15:15I can keep a check as well with some of the local lads and see what...
0:15:15 > 0:15:18That'd be great.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21There's something in the bay there, I don't know, was it a dolphin?
0:15:21 > 0:15:26Wait a second. Maybe I just caught the end of a cormorant diving.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- There we go.- There we go.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33He's right on our stern, just nice.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Oh, there he is, there he is.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43They'll get bored of us before we get bored of them, won't they?
0:15:43 > 0:15:46- Probably, yeah.- Yeah, fantastic.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Martin, if I could hand the helm over to you.
0:15:49 > 0:15:55If I can get a photograph of each one, I can send it down to Simon
0:15:55 > 0:15:59to see if he can match it to records of other dolphins they've got along this coastline.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02And then we know specifically which animals we're dealing with.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- OK, there they are. - I've got 'em, yeah.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06I have actually got a shot, good grief!
0:16:06 > 0:16:11Oh, with the mountains in the background, how extraordinary, that never happens.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Oh, that's the shot of the day!
0:16:18 > 0:16:22You can see, one of them's got some distinct notches in its fin,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25and again, that'll be totally unique to that animal.
0:16:25 > 0:16:31So I'll send that down to Simon and hopefully he'll be able to get a good idea of this animal,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and whether it's been seen before or whether it's a new record
0:16:34 > 0:16:36for this section of coastline.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38So, the work begins.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- Right, shall we head on in?- Yeah.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Photo identification's such an important part of my job in Connemara
0:16:44 > 0:16:49that I've decided to drive down to Simon's with the pictures, to see the next step for myself.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55But hot on the heels of a dolphin sighting, there's another surprise just outside the village.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58There's an otter.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Oh, look at that. Look at that.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04There's two otters.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08'When I think of all the hours I've spent looking for otters and not finding them,
0:17:08 > 0:17:13'this in incredible. Two together, that's a big first for me.'
0:17:13 > 0:17:15This is the main salmon river...
0:17:17 > 0:17:23..and just as you drive along, it's quite incredible what you see as you glance out the window.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Synchronised swimmers.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Right. Fantastic.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37I suspect I'm already late to see Simon but it's so difficult,
0:17:37 > 0:17:42you just can't drive past two otters rolling and playing in a beautiful burn.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Very nice, better get a move on.
0:17:49 > 0:17:56This is an important meeting for me because I need Simon to know that I'm going to do a proper job.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00This is my first stab at finding out if the photos I've taken are right,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03the information I've gathered is right
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and whether he's got records of these animals that I saw the other day.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09That's a really nice image.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Yeah, there's a couple of really clear shots.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14There's an individual, there we are...
0:18:14 > 0:18:16You can see it's very distinctive.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Yeah.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23Simon, as you can see, he's wounded at the moment.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25He's a winged warrior.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27You can still work the mouse, that's the key, the mouse fingers.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30He fell off his bike trying to ride over a can in the road.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35- I was pushed.- Yeah, which is a really uncool injury.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38What Simon and his colleague, Joanne O'Brien, are looking for
0:18:38 > 0:18:43are tell-tale scratches that can differentiate one dolphin from another.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46If you see one, straight away you're like, "I know that one."
0:18:46 > 0:18:50There's certain ones that stand out and the minute you see it you go, "That's familiar."
0:18:50 > 0:18:54- Sometimes you'll know the place, but not always. - Yeah, yeah, of course.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Yeah, so this is the one with tooth rakes, scratched teeth marks.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00- They're tooth rakes, see the parallel lines?- Yeah.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03The gaps between the scratches might be by playing, being aggressive,
0:19:03 > 0:19:08and it could be because adults will compete with each other to get access to the females.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- Jeez, I think we might have it.- Wow!
0:19:11 > 0:19:14There's a nick at the top and there's two...
0:19:14 > 0:19:18I suppose it's an easy trap to fall into, isn't it, but it does look very...
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- Very like it, yeah.- I can't believe how quick you found that, Joanne.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23You must have hundreds of records.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27We have them laid out so we know that if there's four or more
0:19:27 > 0:19:30nicks on this then we go to the folder and look under...
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Zoom into that one there, it's better along the trailing edge.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38OK, so if you look at that one there now.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42You've got your nick up here and you've got your nick there.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45And on this one you can see a slight kink in there as well,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47and maybe that's that.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49But this is very prominent there, look,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52and you can see that the bottom nick is the same shape.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54So if you go on the website here,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57you can see, this is what we call Bottlenose Dolphin Island 35.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59So you click on that and it drags out
0:19:59 > 0:20:02- the sighting record from the database, OK?- Fantastic.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07So you can see this was taken Donegal Bay on 8th August in a group of 40.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09So that was what, August 2008,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12so we're nearly just short of two years later.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17Roundstone to Donegal Bay, it's probably a few hundred kilometres.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22So any records I'm providing are potentially quite significant for you.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27- Yeah, and if it's not there, it'll be added to the database, increasing it.- For sure.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29It has big implications. All European states
0:20:29 > 0:20:33are supposed to designate sites for the protection of bottlenose dolphins,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36and the Shannon is the only one in Ireland.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39We've been arguing that there should be more.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44As I said, when we started, we don't get many records from Connemara.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47It's another piece of the jigsaw, it's a good piece of the jigsaw
0:20:47 > 0:20:51and I've no doubt that you'll get more and more. So it is significant.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Maybe you just got lucky, Monty.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- Yeah!- First trip out and you nail a couple of good images.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- You make your luck!- You've set a very high standard for yourself.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Oh, God!
0:21:01 > 0:21:03That was tremendous. It's very difficult to walk away
0:21:03 > 0:21:07from any conversation with Simon without feeling massively enthused
0:21:07 > 0:21:09and committed to the work you're doing.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13But it's so nice to know that the photographs I'm taking
0:21:13 > 0:21:16are adding to a meaningful database,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19and there is a genuine need to get the information from Connemara.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21The stuff swimming around off the coast there,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24when I speak to the locals... huge animals.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27The giants of the sea come to visit Connemara.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30And it's great to see them, but it's even better
0:21:30 > 0:21:33to contribute to their conservation by providing data.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37So I'll get out there and photograph everything that moves, basically!
0:21:38 > 0:21:41The trip has certainly given me the boost I needed.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44There's so much to do logging wildlife sightings on a coastline
0:21:44 > 0:21:46that's been ignored for so long.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49But every time I return to Inishnee, it's like crossing a moat
0:21:49 > 0:21:53and shutting myself away in my own sleepy little fortress,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56complete with all its eccentricities.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- Oh! - HE LAUGHS
0:21:59 > 0:22:01That presumably stops the cow sinking.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05It's a cow flotation device.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Why...why would you do that? That's quite... There we go.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21This is a very, very seductive, soporific place.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23And chatting to some of the locals here,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26they say that for the first few days anyone comes here,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28it's almost like they're drugged.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44The quality of the air and the whisper of the waves and the wind,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47and you just feel like you want to sleep and kick back and relax.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52It's so important that I remember that I'm here to do a job.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57But, you know, I have to say in the office, the wallpaper ain't too bad.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03There we are. Beautiful.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26I've been lucky so far, but today's a wake-up call
0:23:26 > 0:23:29that not every day is going to be bathed in sunshine.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33And not every day is going to bring me inspirational encounters with wildlife.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38There are darker sides to the job too.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44Just had a call about a dolphin carcass in Clifden.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49And Clifden is the capital of Connemara,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and by all accounts it's a really beautiful place.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55And I say by all accounts, cos I've never been there before.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02One of the things you notice in Ireland is the multi-coloured shop fronts.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05It's almost like everyone's got together and said,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10"Right, what's a really kaleidoscopic series of colours we can pick for our high street?"
0:24:10 > 0:24:13And I think it's lovely.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24This is the rather beautifully named Sky Road.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28And...for a very simple reason, you get an amazing view,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32big skies, cliffs, panoramas,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34and of course the Atlantic.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Strandings will form an important part of my work here.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45The carcass of a whale or dolphin gives valuable insight into its diet
0:24:45 > 0:24:49and into the toxins it might be absorbing from the water around it.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53'The key is getting to them before they decompose
0:24:53 > 0:24:55'or get washed back into the sea.'
0:24:55 > 0:25:00Very frequently these carcasses will just be lifted off by a tide and float away.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02But you just never know.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06I can't smell anything, but that's where Rubes comes into his own.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Come on, Rubes, come on! Find me a dolphin.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13This is about as high as the tide gets,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16so it's about the optimum bad time to look for this animal.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19But we'll walk the whole beach, you never know.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Ireland sees about 150 strandings a year.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Around 20 of those are live strandings,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30where the animal can be manoeuvred back into the water.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34I'll be on standby to help with a live stranding anywhere in Ireland,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38but I can also expect several dead animals on my patch during the summer.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Getting samples means reaching the site
0:25:41 > 0:25:45before the carcass is washed back out to sea.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Right, there's no sign of a large odorous mammal,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51except for that one, but it's never wasted
0:25:51 > 0:25:55when you come to the seashore because of the stuff you find.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59The soil's not very good for growing stuff in Connemara,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01in a lot of Connemara.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05So what local people do is they get fish boxes
0:26:05 > 0:26:09and they fill them with soil, and then grow things in soil.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13So I'm going to take this fish box and give it a go.
0:26:13 > 0:26:14Come on, Rubes!
0:26:16 > 0:26:18The sea on my doorstep is packed with food
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and now it's provided me with a means of growing veg as well.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25I feel quite inspired.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29I want to become as self-sufficient as I can while I'm living here.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Right, my renowned green fingers.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38A round cabbage. French dwarf beans, sounds too complicated.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Uh... Rhubarb.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Come August, I'll be eating cabbage, spuds
0:26:45 > 0:26:47and rhubarb in some bizarre combination.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53Could grow herbs.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10This is the fish box I picked up from the beach the other day.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11It's come from Holland.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15'Now it's part of my plan to grow as much of my own veg as possible.'
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Rubes considers himself something of an authority on digging holes,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22so I'm always very closely supervised.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Right, I'm going to plant potatoes in this one.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33These little sort of shoots that come up
0:27:33 > 0:27:36used to freak me out when I was a kid,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and my sister used to chase me with potatoes that had sprouted.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Which, I suppose is, in retrospect, quite weird.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Come on, little fella, come on.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00There we are. Finally in my Dutch fish box,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I'm going to have a herb garden.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05The whole idea of that is fish will feature very strongly in my summer
0:28:05 > 0:28:09and it'd be lovely to have my own herbs to flavour them myself.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12'Herbs for my fresh fish, spuds, cabbage
0:28:12 > 0:28:16'and salad leaves on the side, and rhubarb for pudding.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19'I'll live like a king.' And there we are, a perfect suntrap here.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22The sun arcs across like that.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Hey, shadow animals.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Rabbit, stag.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Hedgehog rolled up.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34- Dog. - RUBES BARKS
0:28:34 > 0:28:39Easy! You see? It's just... I'll show you how to do it some day.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45There we go, job done. Good luck, chaps, you're on your own.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Rubes goes insane the moment he gets a whiff of ozone.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06Temporarily loses his mind.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08I think it's cos he's grown up on beaches, you know,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10he knows they're fun.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14Don't worry, Rubes, we're going out in a moment, I promise.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16Having the sea on our doorstep is a huge plus for Rubes.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20And for me, it means access to a massive seafood larder.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24I love shellfish, and I've heard about an event
0:29:24 > 0:29:26that sounds just too good to miss.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31I'm heading off to a mussel festival,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35as in the small shellfish as opposed to a large group of men in thongs.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41I'm really keen to become part of the Connemara community.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43And this is just the event I wanted for my debut.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45Heaven help us.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49As part of the mussel festival, they have a cookery competition
0:29:49 > 0:29:50and I've entered.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53The festival's being held in the village of Tullycross.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56It feels like half of Connemara's turned out
0:29:56 > 0:30:00in celebration of the thriving local mussel industry.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03I was in Canada.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07They're a great little food. They come in their own little package.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Well, I'm cooking in a minute in the...
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Are you cooking in a minute?
0:30:12 > 0:30:15I am, which is potentially humiliating on a massive scale.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18'It's amazing how fast you make new friends in Ireland.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22'As Warren, the chef, shows me how the professionals cook mussels.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27'I discover that Mairin ui Chomain is one of Ireland's top cookery writers.'
0:30:27 > 0:30:29So are you here to do a demo are you...
0:30:29 > 0:30:30I'm here to do the judging.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33- So you'll be judging me. - I will.- Right.- That's very hard now.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36- Getting in with the judge before the event.- That's not fair.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38I'm under pressure now.
0:30:38 > 0:30:43Now I know you're this amazing food writer and all that, I'm going to go to pieces.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47'To be honest I was probably going to pieces anyhow
0:30:47 > 0:30:49'but armed with my new excuse and inspired by the pros
0:30:49 > 0:30:55'I'm ready to take on the best amateur mussel chefs in Connemara.'
0:30:57 > 0:31:02Cider vinegar, cider, cream, it's a nightmare.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05It's a genuine nightmare.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07'In all there are eight competitors.
0:31:07 > 0:31:13'Apart from yours truly and one lone American they're all locals, steeped in the traditions of the sea
0:31:13 > 0:31:17'and I'm pretty sure they're all better mussel cooks than I am.'
0:31:17 > 0:31:22Mussels a la cider, Willy Nelson.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24I'm cooking against Willy Nelson.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29The last year I was wearing this they gave me 18-year-old whisky.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33- Right.- I just dunked it into the pot of mussels and they haven't spoken to me for a year.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35No, I'm not surprised.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39- This is a recipe you've come up with yourself?- Yes. - A little bit of trial and error?
0:31:39 > 0:31:43I didn't practise it. I've made so many mistakes that this is going to be the final one.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46The first contestant is Davina Errol.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51'I need the crowd on my side.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54'But I'm not making a great start.'
0:31:54 > 0:31:58- We have Monty Hall, here you go Monty.- Thank you very much.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02- Monty, if you didn't guess it, Monty is representing England.- Oh.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08- And, the Outer Hebrides. - Hooray!
0:32:08 > 0:32:10Good luck, Monty.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14This is, I think, what's defined in the business as a tough gig.
0:32:14 > 0:32:20- Go back to the Outer Hebrides.- Oh, Marion you don't mean that.- I do.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Yes, you do don't you.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25The front row, it is terrifying!
0:32:25 > 0:32:29And as the lone Englishman in the competition,
0:32:29 > 0:32:33I imagine the crowd are going to be very kind to me, I think.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37As long they, they don't start throwing stuff. That's the key.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40Finely chop an onion.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44And here we have Monty in the far corner. Oh, yes, he's cooking away, cooking away.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47I am, yeah, I feel quietly confident.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08Ah, let me see this is onions, bit of garlic, bit of butter and then a bit of cider later on.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11- Somebody recognised your wife. - Yes, Rubes, hello Rubes.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Come on Marian, come on!
0:33:26 > 0:33:29We're good, we're good, I've nearly finished.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Five, four, three, two, one!
0:33:33 > 0:33:35CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:33:35 > 0:33:36There we are. There we are.
0:33:37 > 0:33:42Can I say how beautiful and glamorous you look, Mairin. Just before I give you this.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Enjoy it.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52- Super. Very tasty the sauce is lovely.- Very nice.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58OK, it's all winding up now,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01we got the judges' results in a moment.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Hopefully the fact I nobbled Mairin before the event will stand me in good stead.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09Really great, really, even the banter, I enjoyed the banter.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14It's no place for the weak, up there, cooking mussels, believe me.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18There's a sort of simmering competitiveness here, you know.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22It's like the Oscars. When the other person wins, you've got to look happy for them.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26- And give 'em a clap. - It's massive, like fake smile on my face, but well done now.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30But inside you're dying, inside you're dying.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32OK, who came first?
0:34:32 > 0:34:39- Because, and it's not favouritism. - OK.- Hand on my Connemara heart.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42- Monty is third.- Hooray.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45Thank you very much.
0:34:46 > 0:34:52- In second place, with my hand on my Connemara heart.- Ken!
0:34:54 > 0:34:57You've got to kiss Marian now.
0:34:57 > 0:34:58And the winner is?
0:34:58 > 0:35:01- And the winner is Davina.- Hooray.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05Well done.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10Monty, I'm sorry, lovey, but my daughter won.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I was honoured to cook next to her.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15A popular result.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19Got a third, what was all that about?
0:35:19 > 0:35:21Always have a little chat with the judge beforehand,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24buy 'em a drink, that's the way to get third.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27The greatest moment of my life, you know, coming third.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32- All right, Mairin.- I'm delighted, you made my life happier.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37- Bye, cameraman, I love you, too, bye. - Bye, Mairin.- See you later, Mairin.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40See you in London or in wherever.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45The mussels thrive in the nutrient-rich round waters here
0:35:45 > 0:35:50but also bring in the large marine animals I'm here to study.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55So it's time to go for a dive, to find out what else is lurking in the depths.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03I'm just pulling away from the local dive centre and they've invited me along today to do one of their dives
0:36:03 > 0:36:06and I've heard great things about this dive.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11It'll mean coming face-to-face with conger eels,
0:36:11 > 0:36:17animals that have a fearsome, but I believe undeserved reputation amongst divers and fishermen.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20If you could imagine doing this on dry land,
0:36:20 > 0:36:25imagine four, five, six anacondas coming out and wrapping themselves around you.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28So it should be a very exciting dive.
0:36:28 > 0:36:33I've heard this dive described as the best dive in Europe.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35So hopes are high, I must say.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39A beautiful setting to encounter a leviathan.
0:36:39 > 0:36:46Look at this, big hills capped by thunder clouds, storm clouds
0:36:46 > 0:36:50and we're off to lower ourselves in, crouch at the mouth of a cave
0:36:50 > 0:36:53and wait for these great slate grey monsters to come out.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55I mean, come on.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59'In real life Francis Stockwell is a school caretaker.'
0:36:59 > 0:37:04So the dive site itself, you're gonna be concentrating your dive along this edge of the island.
0:37:04 > 0:37:09'But he's been diving on this site since the congers were first discovered in 1994
0:37:09 > 0:37:12'and now acts as an unofficial guide.'
0:37:12 > 0:37:16So they'll come out and just have a little nose around.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19A good nose around, yeah. A very good nose around.
0:37:19 > 0:37:24You're looking at one of the top predators on any rocky reef in Europe, the conger eel,
0:37:24 > 0:37:26and they rely on this amazing sense of smell,
0:37:26 > 0:37:29so the moment I open this down there, it's like a dinner gong
0:37:29 > 0:37:34and they'll hear the dinner gong and hopefully come rushing.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38Gloves today. Don't normally wear gloves.
0:37:43 > 0:37:50Being a top predator, the conger has razor sharp teeth and a vice-like bite.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52They struggle like mad on the end of a fishing line
0:37:52 > 0:37:55and have got something of a reputation amongst divers.
0:37:55 > 0:38:00But I suspect that, like any wild animal, they'll only attack if they feel threatened
0:38:00 > 0:38:05and I'm sure they won't see me as a threat.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08These congers are clearly used to people feeding them,
0:39:08 > 0:39:14but they wouldn't be here if the waters weren't extraordinarily rich in the first place.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18It's no wonder dolphins are a common sight round here.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32That is one of the best dives I think I've ever done. Just superb.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36When you're nose-to-nose with a big old conger, it's really special.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40- They're incredibly gentle, aren't they?- They are very gentle.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44- Really gentle. They're, you know, just after the fish.- Yeah, yeah.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47- They're like a big puppy.- Yeah. - Lovely brown eyes looking at you.
0:40:47 > 0:40:52Francis, thank you so much just fantastic, really, really good.
0:40:52 > 0:40:57Back in Roundstone my aim is to spend as much time as possible on the water.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00It may sound blindingly obvious but I won't see the dolphins again
0:41:00 > 0:41:03unless I'm out there looking for them.
0:41:03 > 0:41:08It's keeping your eyes peeled, putting the hours in, criss-crossing along the coast,
0:41:08 > 0:41:10but most of all it's luck.
0:41:11 > 0:41:16I'm in the same area where Martin and I spotted that pair a few days ago.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19If I can get repeated sightings I'll be able to establish
0:41:19 > 0:41:24whether these are year-round residents or just passers by.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28But no sightings today. Off for a cup of tea now.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30My mouth isn't working any more, I'm that cold.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Maybe they've just moved on. There we go, there we go.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37My job here is very reactive in that incidents are gonna happen up and down the coast
0:41:37 > 0:41:40and I'm just gonna have to jump in the wagon and go
0:41:40 > 0:41:46and I got a call from Simon quite late last night saying that a minke whale has washed up.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51Now it's dead, unfortunately, but every time that happens you need to figure out how the animal died,
0:41:51 > 0:41:56try and piece together, it's quite a forensic exercise.
0:41:56 > 0:42:02Simon's gonna do an autopsy on the minke whale and I'm gonna help out.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06Also this'll be a great opportunity for me
0:42:06 > 0:42:10to figure out how to do these things should a whale or a dolphin wash up on my patch.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16My first of call is the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Simon has asked me to pick up Connor Ryan, a PhD student
0:42:19 > 0:42:22who can't wait to get his hands on this rare research opportunity.
0:42:22 > 0:42:27- Hello, Connor, how are you? - How are you?- I'm very well. Do you do many of these?
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Connor's fascination started when he was 15
0:42:30 > 0:42:33and he spent the summer holidays watching a pod of killer whales
0:42:33 > 0:42:35that turned up near his hometown of Cork.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38What I'm interested in is the genetics and what they're eating.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42Hopefully the stomach contents will still be fresh.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44The stranded whale is washed up at Doolin,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46on the south side of Galway Bay.
0:42:46 > 0:42:52- Did you say it was originally it was about 150... - Yeah, 150 yards just over this way.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56A little bit of climbing involved.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Not for the first time, it looks like I've arrived at the stranding too late.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03I imagine the tide would have come in, just lifted it.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06- And probably carried...- There's definite interest, isn't there?
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Yeah, there's people over there.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15'And sure enough, a little further round the headland we find first Simon...'
0:43:15 > 0:43:16Did you find it?
0:43:17 > 0:43:22'..then the whale which has been washed back ashore.'
0:43:22 > 0:43:25- There she is.- Wow, that is a young animal, isn't it?- It is, yeah.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28Yeah, right. The pressure is on.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31This whale is a treasure trove, packed with information,
0:43:31 > 0:43:36but with the tide rising it needs to be unlocked before the sea takes it away again.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39The exciting thing about this one is it's fresh.
0:43:39 > 0:43:45It was caught in a lobster line around a lobster pot.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47It's tragic to see it like this
0:43:47 > 0:43:51and a stark reminder that whales and dolphins are mammals, like you and me,
0:43:51 > 0:43:57so if they get entangled and trapped underwater, like us, they drown for lack of air.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Connor is taking DNA samples for his own research project,
0:44:01 > 0:44:07but this is also a rare chance for him and Simon to examine the diet of a juvenile whale.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10As soon as they close their mouths the fish are trapped here - on this side.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14The water falls out here and that's why they're all so packed in tight together.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16It forms a good seal when they close,
0:44:16 > 0:44:18when they shut their mouth,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21that holds the fish behind but water spills out the other side.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25This is the tongue. Whale tongues are amazing things.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28When they close their mouth they push the water out with the tongue.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32The tongue is very squishy - squishes the water out through the baleen.
0:44:32 > 0:44:37Just there, one interesting point is that, we know that this animal was weaned off its mother because
0:44:37 > 0:44:40if it was still dependent on its mother and still feeding,
0:44:40 > 0:44:43it would have large finger-like projections at the tongue,
0:44:43 > 0:44:46where it would hold onto the mother's teat when they sucked.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48- OK.- Good stuff, right. - Well, let the show begin.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50So you can make the first incision.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53That's probably quite blunt that knife.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57- D'you want to put this... - Is everyone standing back for a reason? Ha!
0:44:57 > 0:45:00- There we are, yeah.- Yeah, feel the pressure now?
0:45:00 > 0:45:03- You don't want to burst the intestines cos it gets very messy then.- Yep.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07- Very fresh, it's still red meat. - Isn't it, yeah.
0:45:07 > 0:45:08GAS EXPLODES
0:45:08 > 0:45:10- Oh!- Sorry, James!
0:45:10 > 0:45:14Thanks, good shot.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18- Did it get you?- That was... It was OK, all, it was all gas
0:45:18 > 0:45:20and no, no itty bits. HE LAUGHS
0:45:20 > 0:45:22That is bad.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26I think there's a lesson, don't stand in front of a whale when you're about to cut it open.
0:45:26 > 0:45:30- That is bad.- That wasn't too bad now. Oh, that was good by dead whale standards.
0:45:30 > 0:45:36- That's taken the pressure off, well done.- Never seen you move so fast in my life, that was...
0:45:36 > 0:45:38- Right!- Keep going, yeah, keep going a bit further.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42- Keep going. - OK, the smell is really fetid.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45So that was its intestines that, that went off then.
0:45:45 > 0:45:51It's like a real sort of, a mortar blast of stench from its innards.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Not that pleasant, I must say, hoo!
0:45:54 > 0:45:55'But we have to press on.'
0:45:55 > 0:45:58So you see it does peel off very easily.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01'Our outdoor laboratory is under siege.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05'The rising tide is creeping ever closer and working our way in
0:46:05 > 0:46:10'to find the contents of the whale's stomach is painstakingly difficult.'
0:46:10 > 0:46:12You've got to move everything to get to the stomach,
0:46:12 > 0:46:14cos the stomach holds the answers.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18The stomach will have whatever this animal has been eating.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20OK, where is its stomach?
0:46:20 > 0:46:22There's the heart.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26So the stomach must be...
0:46:26 > 0:46:30I hope it's not in that mush there.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34'The search is fascinating but it goes way beyond anything I'd do,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37'if I found a stranded whale on my patch.'
0:46:37 > 0:46:41The requirement for the Whale and Dolphin Group is species,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43gender and length and then to take a skin sample.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47That's sent off to the Natural History Museum to store for genetics,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50so we wouldn't normally expect you to be opening them up but diet is
0:46:50 > 0:46:54- a fundamental thing and for you, it's fascinating...- Absolutely. - ..To see what's inside.
0:46:54 > 0:46:59'After three hours of stench and back-breaking work,
0:46:59 > 0:47:03'Simon and Connor find the elusive stomach but the results are not what they were expecting.'
0:47:03 > 0:47:06Sadly there isn't anything in the stomach which is
0:47:06 > 0:47:11a disappointment, but Simon thinks the animal vomited when it was,
0:47:11 > 0:47:16when it was drowning and expelled whatever was in there
0:47:16 > 0:47:18out into the open sea,
0:47:18 > 0:47:21so it's a pity, but, again, a huge mine of information here.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25'I've learned loads about whale anatomy and seen at firsthand how
0:47:25 > 0:47:30'that massive tongue drives that extraordinary baleen feeding mechanism.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34'Connor's taking home ongoing research as well.'
0:47:34 > 0:47:37The idea with stable isotope analysis is you are what you eat.
0:47:37 > 0:47:42So, the proteins in the baleen will reflect the proteins of the fish they were eating,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44so the baleen's fantastic, maybe that's two years old,
0:47:44 > 0:47:48I can sample the length of it and see if their diet fluctuated over time.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Right. Well, it's been a truly unique experience.
0:47:52 > 0:47:59- Another badge of honour. - Another badge, and I'm a bit closer to being a proper whale...
0:47:59 > 0:48:04It's been a wonderful afternoon for me with Connor and Simon, I've learned so much.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07There's been one overriding thought as I cut up the whale,
0:48:07 > 0:48:09and that's how beautiful it is.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13It's such an exquisite design. You see the pleats in the throat
0:48:13 > 0:48:16and the colouration and the rainbow colours on the tongue.
0:48:16 > 0:48:20It really is so beautiful, and that's a dead whale, slightly decomposed.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24Just imagine it out in the open ocean, you know,
0:48:24 > 0:48:26what a sight it must be.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29And you, you realise when you look at the baleen
0:48:29 > 0:48:35and you look at that massive tongue that as the animal feeds, taking in
0:48:35 > 0:48:39swimming pool-sized lumps of the ocean and then pushing them out
0:48:39 > 0:48:43through the baleen, you realise what an efficient feeding method it is
0:48:43 > 0:48:48and why it's created the largest animals that have ever lived on planet Earth.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55Alongside my whale and dolphin research I'm keen to offer
0:48:55 > 0:49:01my services as a diver and I found just the place for my first job.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03Ever since the mussel festival,
0:49:03 > 0:49:07where I came third, incidentally, in the mussel cooking competition,
0:49:07 > 0:49:12I've been quite intrigued every time I've driven past Killary Fjord here to see the mussel farms.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16So I've got in touch with Marty Knee, who runs this farm.
0:49:16 > 0:49:21I'll go and dive with him, just help him out and do a couple of jobs.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25Marty started farming mussels here in 2001.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29He now exports all over Europe but he supplies the local market, too.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32It was his produce I was cooking at the mussel festival.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35I haven't seen you since the mussel festival.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37No. No, my moment of triumph!
0:49:37 > 0:49:39- OK?- OK, Marty.- Ready for action?
0:49:39 > 0:49:41I am ready for action. 'Marty's out here in all weathers,
0:49:41 > 0:49:45'hauling up ropes of mussels that have taken 18 months to mature.
0:49:45 > 0:49:50'But, ever the marine biologist, I'm more interested in the things that grow alongside them.'
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Amazing, the encrusted life on these ropes.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58You've got sea squirts, anemones,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01all the mussels, the barnacles.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06That's very, very hard.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09The shoulders, the forearms, whoo.
0:50:19 > 0:50:23Each one of these ropes is about 65 kilograms.
0:50:23 > 0:50:28It's the equivalent of a small man hanging on these lines,
0:50:28 > 0:50:31and Marty, for ten hours a day, has to grab the end of the line,
0:50:31 > 0:50:35drag it over to here and then up and then shred it.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40Line after line, hour after hour after hour.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42If I did this for ten hours,
0:50:42 > 0:50:45I-I'd be in hospital.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48But I think this form of farming's wonderful
0:50:48 > 0:50:55because surely you're providing settlement areas for lots of larval marine life
0:50:55 > 0:50:59who are making the most of an entirely natural process
0:50:59 > 0:51:02and it seems very sustainable.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05So, yeah... It's not sustainable for me, I hasten to add,
0:51:05 > 0:51:07I'd last about a day.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10It's an extraordinary little animal, this.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13One of the predators of the mussel is the dog whelk
0:51:13 > 0:51:17and when it moves into a colony of mussels it tries to drill a hole
0:51:17 > 0:51:20and basically eat the mussel through the shell.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24The mussel will throw out these byssal threads and try and pin it down.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26So if you look at a colony of mussels,
0:51:26 > 0:51:29which you find on any rocky shore pretty much around the UK,
0:51:29 > 0:51:32you'll see little dog whelks caught like Gulliver, lassoed
0:51:32 > 0:51:37and dying basically, because they starve to death cos they can't move.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40The other great thing about these guys is they sit still,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43in one place and filter water, that's how they get their food.
0:51:43 > 0:51:49But that means if there's chemicals in that water they produce enzymes in response to the chemicals.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51So if you take one of these and crush and analyse it,
0:51:51 > 0:51:55you can see what chemicals are in the water that it's filtering.
0:51:55 > 0:52:00Here in Killary Fjord pollution isn't an issue,
0:52:00 > 0:52:04so I'm desperate to dive and see how much marine life the waters sustain,
0:52:04 > 0:52:06and Marty has a job for me.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I'd like you to check the mooring blocks on the end of the lines,
0:52:09 > 0:52:11- if that's OK.- Yeah, that's fine.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14He's about to book a crane to move his mooring blocks
0:52:14 > 0:52:18and he needs to know how badly silted up they've become.
0:52:18 > 0:52:24What a lovely man, and the great thing is that he's sitting in Killary Fjord now.
0:52:24 > 0:52:29A lot of dolphins backwards and forwards in here and when call him about the state of his moorings,
0:52:29 > 0:52:33I'll say, tell me any time any dolphins appear and I can get
0:52:33 > 0:52:37straight down here and I think it's the way it works, isn't it?
0:52:37 > 0:52:39You do a favour for someone and they help you back.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Marty's mussels grow in about 40 feet of water.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49The top few feet are thick with plankton blooms that reduce
0:52:49 > 0:52:53visibility to almost nil, but below that the water clears
0:52:53 > 0:52:56and it's a simple dive to the end of the mooring lines.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13'My return to the surface takes me back through that thick layer of plankton.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17'It's what basking sharks eat and is a vital part of the food chain.'
0:54:29 > 0:54:31'Basking sharks can grow to 30 feet long
0:54:31 > 0:54:35'and weigh the same as four African elephants.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39'Despite their size they're incredibly difficult to find.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43'But if the plankton blooms are here, they won't be far behind.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47'I volunteered to tag them as part of Simon's research,
0:54:47 > 0:54:51'so once I've put away a well-earned bowl of Killary's finest,
0:54:51 > 0:54:55'it's back to Roundstone to be there when they first surface in my bay.'
0:55:10 > 0:55:13You always travel more in hope than expectation
0:55:13 > 0:55:16when you come out to look for animals like this. There's a lot of ocean,
0:55:16 > 0:55:20we are looking for a giant but there's a heck of a lot of sea.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24You need the right conditions, lots of plankton, bit of sunlight
0:55:24 > 0:55:28and I've just got to come across one in the vicinity of the boat.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31The baskers are making me wait.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33Maybe it's still too early for them.
0:55:33 > 0:55:38But if you're prepared to put in the time on the water, it's almost never wasted.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42Hey-hey-hey!
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Coming straight for... Whoa!
0:55:45 > 0:55:49Loads of dolphins, wooh!
0:55:49 > 0:55:52Look at that and there!
0:55:52 > 0:55:54Fantastic.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57How many we got, one, two...
0:55:57 > 0:55:59Impossible to count.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
0:56:03 > 0:56:06which is the numbers that the fishermen say they see here,
0:56:06 > 0:56:12so this could be, who knows, a resident pod.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16These are the dolphins - it's only the third time I've been out and twice I've seen dolphins.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23That would be very exciting to know these guys spend a lot of their time
0:56:23 > 0:56:26in this stretch of coastline, in this very small area.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29These are the dolphins I need to get to know over the next six months
0:56:29 > 0:56:34because if we can prove they're here
0:56:34 > 0:56:39and not really anywhere else, that they stay in one place,
0:56:39 > 0:56:45then it means we've got a good argument for trying to get this area protected,
0:56:45 > 0:56:51and also finding all about this population as well, how many animals there are, do they have young.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Way-hey, look at that!
0:56:54 > 0:56:58Oh-ho-ho, got him perfectly.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01Go on, have a little jump, go on.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10Oh, that was a good shot!
0:57:12 > 0:57:15He's right in the middle of my lens, jumping out of the water.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17Look at that...
0:57:17 > 0:57:19Shot of the day.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23I took a whole bunch of very bad photographs there
0:57:23 > 0:57:26and how much ID value we can get out of them, I'm not too sure.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30There were maybe three or four photos we could really clearly see the fin.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34And I'll send those off to Simon straight away,
0:57:34 > 0:57:37and slowly the record builds over the summer,
0:57:37 > 0:57:41and slowly the story will begin to be told about these animals.
0:57:54 > 0:57:59Next time, Martin shows me where to drop my creels for some of the best seafood in Europe...
0:58:01 > 0:58:03..and the wildlife fights back.
0:58:03 > 0:58:09First the orphaned otter that smells dog on my trousers... Oi!
0:58:09 > 0:58:12Then trying to photograph an ocean giant.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15The sharks arrive in record numbers.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19That was moderately close.
0:58:36 > 0:58:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:39 > 0:58:42E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk