About Sea Life Surveys

How it all began ...

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For over 25 years Sea Life Surveys have been successfully operating specialist wildlife trips on the west coast of Scotland in the fascinating and exciting waters around Mull, Coll, Muck Eigg, Rum and the Treshnish Isles. The rugged isles and clean seas provide the perfect environment for the wildlife to flourish and the sea area supports a huge abundance of breeding birds, seals, otters, whales, porpoises and dolphins to name a few. However, it was the mysterious minke whale which first gripped naturalist Richard Fairbairns imagination and brought Sea Life Surveys to where it is today.

It was a close encounter with this magnificent animal that inspired him, in 1982, to take the first tentative steps towards investigating the little-researched cetaceans of the Inner Hebrides. In order to finance and practically carry out the surveys it was decided to invite people from all works of life to come and enjoy this very special marine environment while knowing that they were actively contributing to our understanding of it. Although 26 of the 83 known species of cetacean occur in British waters, Richard Fairbairns discovered that very little research had been carried out on them. The dearth of information on cetaceans in Scottish waters prompted him to set up a project to investigate them. With advice from whale biologists Vassili Papastavrou and Jonathan Gordon, he created the research organisation, Mull Cetacean Project, (MCP).

The aims of the project were to investigate the cetacean populations over an area of 300 square miles to the north and west of Mull using only benign methods to study their behaviour (particularly that of the minke whale) and their place in the ecosystem of the area. In addition, to involve and educate the general public and to disseminate the information produced by the scientific research. Funds for this work were to be raised by the introduction of commercial whale watching holidays and day trips run by Sea Life Surveys. Data collection was to be carried out from the whale watching vessel by Richard, a crew of student volunteers and paying members of the public under supervision.

At the beginning of 1992 The Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust (HWDT) was created. This is now a thriving establishment and has taken over much of the education and conservation activities of the Mull Cetacean Project. The research activities of Sea Life Surveys however continues to focus on the minke whale and cetaceans in the area which compliments further studies by HWDT.

Brennen & James, Richard's sons have now taken over Sea Life Surveys and continue to run whale watching trips and package holidays. The success of Sea Life Surveys over the years since its inception was highlighted in October 1994 when Sea Life Surveys won the Scottish Tourist Board's Thistle Award for excellence in the field of Tourism and the Environment and in February 1995 the British Airways' Tourism for Tomorrow Award. During 2003 James was the Argyll 'Shell Livewire' for Ecocruz, we are currently working towards our Green Business Award.

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