A LIFELONG love of dolphins and whales has landed Clare Owen the job of her dreams.

The 26-year-old spends large parts of her time sailing on ferries between the UK and Spain and observing and monitoring the sea-living mammals in their natural habitat.

Ms Owen also helps passengers on board to spot the various cetaceans – the collective term for whales, dolphins and porpoises – and raises awareness of marine conservation.

The Brighton expert works as a wildlife officer for the charity ORCA, which works to protect whales and dolphins by identifying areas where they’re vulnerable and studying their habitats.

Ms Owen said growing up by the sea in Brighton helped spark her interest in marine life, although she has yet to see a dolphin or porpoise off the Sussex coast.

She said: “I have always loved being by the sea and been fascinated by dolphins and whales.

“I used to love things like going rock pooling in Ovingdean and enjoyed surfing and diving. It was only natural that when I got older I would make a career out of it.”

Ms Owen studied for a marine biology degree before spending a few years working in New Zealand and eventually returning to the UK.

She said: “I spend two weeks on board and one week off and watch out for them as well as speaking to passengers and having craft and activity sessions for the children.

“I always wanted to work with dolphins and become involved in research.

“They are just so playful and intelligent and their communication is so good. They also have tight social groups and it is fascinating to watch.

“I’ve never done anything like swim with them though, as I prefer to observe them in their natural state without disturbing them.

“I think a lot of people are not aware of the large variety of cetaceans we have in the seas around the UK and in Europe,” she added.

“There are 25 different species and it is so important we understand them and find ways to ensure they are protected.”

ORCA works in partnership with Brittany Ferries to have wildlife officers on board as part of an educational and awareness programme.

Dolphins and all cetaceans are protected by international and national wildlife legislation in the UK.

Dolphin and whale sightings

MORE than 25 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises have been recorded in UK waters, including Fin Whales, Sperm Whales, Cuvier’s Beaked Whales, Striped Dolphins and Bottlenose Dolphins. In 2013 fisherman Jai Tahsin from Patcham spotted a pod of about 60 dolphins just four-and-a-half miles off the coast at Brighton.

He then rushed to get his mobile phone to film them at play.

Mr Tahsin told The Argus: “I was just sitting there in my boat minding my own business and then I heard this strange sound behind me.

“So I got up and looked around and saw all these dolphins.

“They were coming right up to the side of the boat and being really sociable so I thought, ‘well I have to film this’.

“It was amazing.”

When a pod of 70 bottle-nosed dolphins started playing in the sea around a fishing boat in 2011, David Lambert also grabbed his phone and started filming them.

Mr Lambert, of Upper Lewes Road, was fishing 12 miles off the Brighton coast when the dolphins appeared.

Last November residents in Worthing were left stunned when a dead porpoise was found in a pool of blood in an alleyway in Pilgrims Walk.

The 5ft, 10lb porpoise was believed to have been washed up on Worthing beach before somebody carried it more than a mile inland and dumped its body.

Dolphins are seen along the south coast fairly regularly and usually come to the area looking for food.

They will eat most fish and are known to chase shoals of fish – such as sprats – that sometimes accumulate along the coast in the winter months.

About the ORCA charity

ORCA’s volunteer teams operate on board ferries and cruise ships in the North Sea, North East Atlantic and the Irish and Celtic Sea in a bid to keep an eye on numbers and observe their habits and raise awareness as part of its wildlife officer scheme.

It also runs an I-Spy Whales scheme with Brittany Ferries to offer people a chance to discover and learn more about whales, dolphins and seabirds in the Bay of Biscay – one of the world’s most renowned whale watching locations.

The Your Seas education programme in the North East and South East of England works with local schools, community groups and businesses to raise awareness of whales and the threats they face.

The charity believes the only way to protect our whales and dolphins is to identify areas where they’re vulnerable and study their habitats.

That way, it can protect these places by changing the way they are used.

That includes shipping, fishing, noise pollution, marine litter and more.

This information can be shared and used across the globe.

Achievements so far include helping the UK government identify important whale and dolphin hot spots around the UK coastline and establishing the conservation status of the whale, dolphin and porpoise species that frequent its waters.

It has also created a national network of trained marine mammal surveyors from all walks of life The charity has brought together representatives from the shipping industry, government and scientists to discuss and plan how to prevent large whales being hit by ships in the North Atlantic.

For more details, visit www.orcaweb.org.uk