White-Beaked Dolphin - Lagenorhynchus albirostris

White-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) is a larger dolphin, around 2-3m in length. Key identification features include a short white-tipped beak, and a pale saddle located behind the central dorsal fin alongside two pale grey areas along the flanks of the dolphin (fig. 1) (Couzens et al, 2023). White-beaked dolphin are usually seen in small groups, often under 10 dolphins in a group but can be up to 20, and their diet mainly consists of fish such as mackerel, herring, cod alongside squid and benthic crustaceans (Couzens et al, 2023; Evans, Anderwald & Hepworth, 2008)

Range & Distribution:
White-beaked dolphin can typically be seen along the Grampian coast between June and September, with peak numbers in August (fig. 2 & 5) (Evans, Anderwald & Hepworth, 2008). The abundance of white-beaked dolphin in the North Sea is considered stable (fig. 3).

Factors Affecting Species:
Noise disturbance, for example pile-driving which overlaps with frequency levels used by white-beaked dolphin, can also impact on behaviour and movements (Evans, Anderwals, Hepworth, 2008). These activities can disturb feeding or breeding, or potentially cause these dolphins to avoid the area altogether.
There is the potential for climate change and warming seas to be influencing the movements of white-beaked dolphin - stranding data has shown that the distribution of dolphins stranding moved further North within the North Sea between 1991 - 2017 (fig. 4) (Ijsseldijk et al, 2018).

Conservation Status:
UK Biodiversity Action Plan: Priority Marine Species (BRIG, 2007)
Scottish Biodiversity List: Priority Species (NatureScot, 2020b)
White-beaked dolphin are a European Protected Species, protected from deliberate and reckless injury or disturbance. They are also a Priority Marine Feature (PMF) in Scotland , considered to be a species of priority in marine nature conservation (NatureScot, 2020a).

Report any cetacean sightings to the SeaWatch Foundation or NESBReC via the links below.