It pays to be WiSe.
Posted on Mon 30 Mar 2020 · by Muriel J. Hallé
The WiSe Scheme, the UK's national training scheme for minimising disturbance to marine wildlife, gives important information to people who work on boats, or who own a boat, as well as kayakers, jet ski riders, or really anybody who wants to spend more time on the water.
The WiSe scheme trains you to be aware of minimising your impact on the behaviour of these beautiful wild animals.
Their goal is to protect marine wildlife by educating the public and especially boat operators about behaviour that can cause potential disturbance of wildlife. Not just that, but you might also get new information about basking sharks, dolphin species that live around you and even how you can determine if birds or seals get disturbed.
So, any operator who has a “Accredited Wildlife Safe Operator” sticker on the boat or shows the WiSe logo on the website will have had this training (as we have at Hebridean Adventures). Therefore, it is a great way for potential guests to check if the company is going to be respectful towards wildlife.
A basking shark - something we see in the late summer typically.
For me as a wildlife guide it was great in particular to get more information about basking sharks and more knowledge in general to share with our guests. Disturbance has such a huge impact on animals and needs to be reduced as much as possible.
We at Hebridean Adventures strongly believe that education is the way to go, in order to protect and maintain a healthy marine wildlife ecosystem. We are more than happy to take you with us, tell you our stories, and bring you closer to the marine environment.
Be WiSe on the water!
To find out all about the WiSe Scheme and how to attend their courses please visit their website - https://www.wisescheme.org
Adult gannet - it's important to minimise disturbance to birds just as much as mammals.