Whales in Irish waters

A wealth of research data

Sir, – The article “Ireland follows a global trend for increased whale and dolphin beachings” (Science, May 11th) contains the sentence: “Ireland’s biggest contribution to the study of whales comes from an accidental stranding.”

There many research papers on the topic of whales in Irish waters, some of which are published in the Irish Naturalists’ Journal. There is the ongoing work of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG). There is also an all-Ireland citizen science project called the Irish Cetacean Genetic Tissue Bank (ICGTB). The ICGTB, along with other whale specimens, are held in the collections of the Natural History Museum in Dublin, and both resources are frequently used in the study of whales. – Yours, etc,

Dr AMY GERAGHTY,

Assistant Keeper,

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Natural History Division,

National Museum of Ireland,

Dublin 2.