21 March 2025.
Thea Taylor.
Welcome to the Sussex Dolphin Project.
Welcome to our fourth Sussex Bay blog. The Sussex coastline is a haven for marine wildlife. Under the water the habitat is diverse and the animals living there even more so. Breaking the surface barrier, the cetaceans (Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises) that inhabit the Eastern English Channel are still a mystery. Where do they come from, are they resident, what do they eat? These are all questions the Sussex Dolphin Project is working to answer.
Since our launch in 2018, the Sussex Dolphin Project has been dedicated to the conservation of dolphins and porpoises in local Sussex waters. Our mission is to understand and protect our local species through awareness, education and most importantly research.
Currently, our research relies heavily on contributions from our citizen science program, where we train dedicated members of the public to collect data through land watch sessions. In addition to this, we receive information from opportunistic sightings shared by the community.
The opportunistic data has allowed us to create distribution maps for the two key Sussex cetacean species: Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). And allowed us to plot the visiting Common Dolphins (Delphinus delphis). However, this data is limited by poor quality photographs, lack of environmental or track data, and a multitude of biases.
To help us to understand population sizes, habitats, feeding patterns and distribution, we are looking to expand our research through increased training and, with support of Sussex Bay, fundraising for our own research vessel.
While land-based and opportunistic data is essential, it is not recognised by the JNCC, the government’s advisor on nature conservation, and therefore not used to influence government policy or marine planning. Owning our own vessel will enable us to cover more of the Sussex coastline consistently, enabling us to conduct full-day or even multi-day surveys. The data we gather can then be used to inform policymakers in helping to place stronger protections for local marine life.
How can you get involved?
There are a few ways that you can get involved with our work.
Research: If you are interested in assisting us with research collection (or just need an excuse to sit by the sea for an hour!) our Landwatch training courses are a fantastic first step. These provide you with the knowledge you need to collect land-based data on the marine mammals of Sussex, and provide us with much-needed eyes along the coastline.
Awareness: Spread the word! Everyone needs more dolphins in their life so share our social content and encourage people to engage with us. We also have incredible ecotourism offers in the summer including a new Sailing experience out of Brighton Marina so come on our trips, learn more about SDP and support our work in the process.
Education: We run a fantastic education programme for children and adults, so if you are interested in education for school age children, or adult interest groups, please get in touch with us at education@sussexdolphinproject.org
Donate!: While we hate asking for money, it is sadly necessary to keep the Sussex Dolphin Project running, and allow us to expand. The Sussex coastline is full of incredible marine wildlife, and with your help, we can ensure it remains a thriving habitat for dolphins and porpoises. Together we can make a difference - expanding our research, influencing stronger marine protections, and securing a future for our marine species.
Join us on our mission!
Join us in this mission. Support the Sussex Dolphin Project and help turn the tide for cetacean conservation. You can donate here.
About Thea.
Thea Taylor is Managing Director of the Sussex Dolphin Project. Thea is a marine biologist who has always had a huge passion for marine mammals, focusing university dissertation on Harbour porpoises off the South coast.
Thea has been lucky enough to volunteer with marine mammals all over the world, from Scotland to the Falkland Islands, researching the distribution and abundance of cetaceans in the Atlantic. Thea also gained valuable practical experience working as a research assistant and wildlife guide for a Scottish-based marine wildlife watching company engaging with local universities to monitor the cetacean populations in the Moray Firth, focusing on Bottlenose dolphins.
Thea is particularly interested in ecosystem-level restoration aimed at protecting target species, while also encouraging people to connect with their coastline, which can benefit the health of the individual as well as the health of their environment.
