News
Rare minke whale spotted in Cardigan Bay
CARDIGAN BAY has recently welcomed a rare visitor, exactly a year after the first minke whale sighting in a decade. On 20 June, the survey team at Sea Watch Foundation, a national charity dedicated to marine wildlife protection, spotted the minke whale.
The team of volunteer researchers was conducting a line transect survey, aimed at measuring the abundance and distribution of marine species, roughly eight nautical miles off the coast of Cardigan, within the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation. Monitoring officer Katrin Lohrengel first noticed an animal surfacing in front of their Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips boat.
After the second surfacing, it became evident that the animal was not a dolphin but a minke whale. Minke whales, one of the smaller baleen whale species, can grow up to 8.6 metres. They are distinguished by their pointed head, dark grey to black body with grey flanks, and characteristic white flipper bands.
This sighting comes exactly one year after the last recorded minke whale sighting in Cardigan Bay in over a decade. The volunteer researchers described the sighting as ‘unreal’.
“Minke whale sightings are so rare for us, we were simply not expecting it, certainly not on the anniversary of our last sighting,” said Ms Lohrengel.
“We stopped the boat and cut the engines, hoping we’d have at least another glimpse of it when it surfaced again.”
Unexpectedly, the whale surfaced behind the boat and swam slowly underneath, allowing the survey team to observe its every move under the water. It circled the boat for approximately ten minutes before moving off.
“It felt unreal,” Ms Lohrengel remarked. “All whale sightings are special, of course, but to be able to observe one at such close range on its own terms was simply amazing. We could not believe our luck.”
Prof. Peter Evans, the director of the Sea Watch Foundation, added: “Minke whales can be very curious around boats. We’ve often had encounters like this in the Hebrides but never in Wales, so it was a wonderful experience for all involved.
“Over the past few weeks we have had some incredible wildlife encounters in Cardigan Bay, including Risso’s dolphins and hundreds of common dolphins. This highlights the diversity of species that use this area and underscores the importance of the Sea Watch Foundation’s ongoing survey work in the two Welsh Special Areas of Conservation.”
The Sea Watch Foundation encourages the public to report any whale, dolphin, or porpoise sightings via their website, seawatchfoundation.org.uk, or their Sea Watcher app to contribute to ongoing monitoring efforts.
News
Labour and Plaid Cymru are expected to win Pembrokeshire seats
LABOUR and Plaid Cymru are expected to win the two new general election seats of Mid and South Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion Preseli, with as much as half of all votes, according to the highest estimates of 12 election polls.
In collated results of different polls from Britain Predicts, The Economist, electionmaps, Electoral Calculus, Focaldata, the FT, Ipsos, More in Common, Savanta, Survation, WeThink, and YouGov, Labour is expected to win the Mid and South Pembrokeshire seat with vote percentages ranging from 33 per cent to as high as 50 per cent.
For the top three parties in Mid and South Pembrokeshire, the poll figures as a percentage of votes are listed below.
Labour: 39, 41, 42, 45, 42, 48, 43, 50, 47, 45, 44, and 33.
Conservative: 28, 27, 27, 20, 26, 23, 30, 29, 24, 36, 22, and 29.
Reform: 14, 15, 15, 23, 16, 17, 8, 9, 15, 14, 20, and 19.
The fourth poll, Electoral Calculus, puts Reform as the second-highest polling party for the seat, with 23 per cent, against 20 for the Conservatives.
Ceredigion Preseli polls are predicting a Plaid Cymru win, ranging from a narrow 27 per cent of votes win to as much as 48 per cent.
It includes a few variations about who is in second, third and fourth positions.
Plaid Cymru: 36, 34, 36, 48, 33, 42, 39, 27 – a narrow win over Labour by one percentage point, 42, 34, 37, and 36.
Labour: 21, 22, 23, 16, 24, 28, 22, 26, 21, 23, 28, and 14.
Conservatives: 20, 13, 11, 12, 12, 10, 14, 19, 12, 15, 13, and 14.
The Reform party polls see some potential upsets for Labour and the Conservatives, with the party gaining third place in four polls (one jointly), and even second, in one poll.
Reform: 8, 14, 13, 17 – ahead of Labour by one point, 14, 9, 10, 12, 10, 7, 10, and 14.
Labour, Conservatives and Reform are all tied on 14 per cent each in the Ceredigion Preseli seat according to the YouGov poll.
Candidates standing in the 15-candidate battle for the two seats are listed below.
Ceredigion Preseli: Ben Lake for Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrat Mark Williams, Welsh Labour’s Jackie Jones, Conservative Aled Thomas, Tomos Barlow for the Green Party, Karl Robert Pollard for Reform UK, and Taghrid Al-Mawed for the Workers Party of Britain.
Mid and South Pembrokeshire: Hanna Andersen (Women’s Equality Party); Alistair Cameron (Welsh Liberal Democrats); Stephen Crabb (Welsh Conservative); Stuart Marchant (Reform UK); James Purchase (Green Party); Vusi Siphika (Independent); Cris Tomos (Plaid Cymru); and Henry Tufnell (Welsh Labour).
Crime
Pembrokeshire man admits to child sex offences in court
A MAN from Pembrokeshire, Paul Stuart Chesher, 66, has pleaded guilty to serious child sex offences at Swansea Crown Court.
Chesher, from Herbrandston, appeared in court on Friday, 21 June, where he admitted to multiple charges.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, specifically masturbation, without believing she was over 16.
These offences occurred in September 2021.
Additionally, Chesher admitted to attempting to engage in sexual communication with the same victim for sexual gratification, also without reasonably believing she was over 16. This communication occurred between August and October 2021.
Chesher, who has admitted all charges, is scheduled to be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court next month.
Community
The Crymych Arms set to host Election Day special
ON Election Day, the Crymych Arms Community Pub is inviting voters to enjoy a special menu inspired by political figures. After casting your vote on Thursday, drop by for a Voter’s Meal and Drink. The pub, owned by the community, is offering a £10 voucher for the best names of political-themed meals submitted on their Facebook page by noon on Wednesday (Jul 3).
Some imaginative entries already include “Sunak Soup of the Day,” “Farage Fish & Chips,” “Starmer Steak Roll,” “Ap Iorwerth Apple Pie and Custard,” and “Davey Danish Pastry Selection.”
Don’t forget your Voter ID when you head to the polls, and join Crymych Arms for a post-election meal. There’s even talk of an exit poll karaoke!
The pub, which the community purchased in October 2023 after a two-year closure, reopened in December 2023, now stands as the village’s sole pub. Experience the refurbished venue and its lively atmosphere. For pre-bookings, call 01239 831435.
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