One of the effects of climate change on the South Coast appears to be that humpback whales are choosing the North/West rather than Cork and Kerry. Dr.Stephen Comerford, recently-appointed Marine Policy Officer at the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, says: “The humpback whales so long a feature of summer in Cork and Kerry didn’t come this year, instead they are far to the north off Mayo, Sligo and Donegal and reduced in numbers.” This he sees as an example of climate change effects on the oceans. Is this a permanent change? Will humpbacks depart the Southern waters for the North/West.
