UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme
CSIP ORGANISATION

Background

The UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) as it is now known is a consortium of four separate organisations. The CSIP is presently jointly funded by Defra, Welsh Assembly Government and Scottish Government. A Steering Group consisting of representatives of UK government and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC; managers of the current contract) monitor progress and provide guidance on the objectives and output of the CSIP. The organisational structure of the CSIP and the responsibilities of each organisation are shown below.

The organisational structure of the CSIP and the responsibilities of each organisation
NB WAG- Welsh Assembly Government, SG- Scottish Government, JNCC- Joint Nature Conservation Committee
The geographic scope of the CSIP is further illustrated in this figure and also shows where each partner organisation has responsibility
The geographic scope of the CSIP is further illustrated in the figure on the left and also shows where each partner organisation has responsibility
.

NB PMEs- Post-mortem examinations

UK STRANDINGS AND POST-MORTEM INVESTIGATIONS

Every year, between 550 and 800 cetaceans are found stranded around UK shores (2003-2007 stranding data). Most are dead, but some are still alive and more than 13,000 stranded cetaceans have been recorded in the UK since records began in 1913. The figure below shows the number of individual species found stranded during the five year period between 2003 and 2007.

Species
Number of strandings
   
Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
1924
Short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
685
Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
76
Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)
72
Long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas)
52
Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)
48
Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
43
Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus)
40
White beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris)
37
Sperm whale (Physeter catodon)
28
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
14
Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)
12
Sowerby’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens)
11
Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
11
Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris)
7
Killer whale (Orcinus orca)
5
Pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps)
1
 
Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
28
Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)
20
Other turtle species
4
 
Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)
5*
 
Indeterminate species
504
 
Total
3627
* – data only collected on UK stranded basking sharks since 2007

As well as recording information on each stranding found in the UK, the CSIP are also currently contracted to investigate 100 stranded cetaceans at post-mortem each year. Additional details on the arrangements for post-mortem investigations in the UK can be found in the CSIP annual report for 2007:

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WC0601_7291_ANN.pdf

and also in the recently published JNCC review of the CSIP:

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WC0601_7415_GEN.pdf

SW2004/290 Stranded Sowerby's beaked whale investigated at post-mortem in Pembrokeshire
SW2004/290 Stranded Sowerby’s beaked whale investigated at post-mortem in Pembrokeshire © CSIP-ZSL

Funded by the organisations below
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Welsh Assembly Government
Scottish Government
Contract manager
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Partnered with the organisations below
Zoological Society of London
Scottish Agricultural College
Natural History Museum
Marine Environmental Monitoring
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