Marine conservationists say they have seen an increase in harassment of dolphins in Cardigan Bay as lockdown restrictions ease.

New Quay-based Sea Watch Foundation say they have seen a rise in recreational boat traffic in the waters around Ceredigion, and a rise in vessels breaking the Ceredigion Marine Code, getting too close to marine life and disturbing them.

In two instances, boats came between a mother and her young calf and kayakers have been spotted getting far too close to dolphins, putting themselves and the mammals at risk.

Katrin Lohrenge, monitoring officer for the Sea Watch Foundation said: “What we have seen in terms of boat traffic, unfortunately, is since the easing of lockdown in Wales this spring, we have seen an uptake of recreational boat traffic with many people unaware of the Ceredigion Code of Conduct and we have seen an increase of people harassing dolphins.

“With the influx of visitors to the coast, these disturbances are sadly becoming more common as a lot of visitors are unaware of how their actions might affect the local wildlife, whereas locals are more likely to know of the code of conduct and why it is in place.

“Something to remember is that it’s not just speedboats and jet skis that can cause disturbance, though they are often the culprits, but even kayakers and paddle boarders can cause disturbance if they are persistent and interfering with the animals.

“In some instances, for example when animals are close to shore, kayakers are also more likely to approach closely as they will not be as worried about running aground as someone in a motorboat.

“It’s important to remember that dolphins are large, powerful animals and if people get too close they may accidentally tip over a kayak while chasing fish, risking injury to both the dolphin and the kayaker.”

Those venturing out into the water are being urged to learn the Ceredigion Code of Conduct, which states that people shouldn’t go within 100 metres of dolphins, seals and porpoises.

Katrin added: “A lot of it is common sense but I think many people just don’t think about it. It’s understandable that people sometimes get carried away with the excitement of seeing these animals, but all these single instances of disturbances add up and become long-time stressors that have the potential to severely affect the animals’ behaviour. In populations in other parts of the world, local populations have been completely displaced by large amount of boat traffic for example.

“Boat traffic disturbance is a well known phenomena and has been widely documented in cetaceans. Studies we’ve conducted have shown a correlation between high boat traffic rates and lower bottlenose dolphin sightings rate and there has been some evidence from Cardigan Bay that suggests high levels of boat traffic may impact social structure in bottlenose dolphins.

“It is understandable that people want to get close to wildlife, particularly after being confined by a pandemic for months, however it is crucial for people to respect the code of conduct if we want to be seeing these animals in years to come.

“Apart from the physical threat of collision, the noise generated by motor operated vessel can affect marine mammals in other ways; in the case of dolphins who often rely on sound as a daily part of their life, it can directly disrupt them while capturing food, locating and communicating with one another.”