*Photograph: John Sheridan.
USE of a pinger to deter Dusty the Dolphin from White Strand in Miltown Malbay has been temporarily suspended.
Locals and visitors to White Strand have expressed concern over the use of a National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS)-licensed acoustic device to discourage the lone dolphin, Dusty from entering shallow waters.
Dusty has been a familiar figure on the Clare coast for over twenty five years. She has had occasional aggressive with swimmers that have caused injuries.
On Monday, a public meeting took place and such was the interest that some men and women were unable to gain access to the full capacity gathering. The meeting was hosted by Clare Water Safety and followed threats of a peaceful protest for the beach which was called off in the past fortnight.
Following the meeting, a spokesperson for Water Safety Clare told The Clare Echo, “Water Safety Clare has decided to temporarily suspend the use of the acoustic device (pinger) while the concerns and reservations of other stakeholders are given further consideration”.
In January, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) co-ordinator Dr Simon Berrow raised concern about the use of the device without a licence after confirming they had received a report that the device was being used by Water Safety Clare.
Dr Berrow provided technical expertise at the meeting, he said that use of a pinger can only be done with a licence and has to be strictly controlled, as it is an acoustic sonar which can disrupt echolocation, cause temporary hearing loss and induce stress in marine mammals. Acoustic sonar use by the military at sea has been linked to mass strandings of marine mammals. device according to Water Safety Clare was planned to be used when water safety training is taking place for young lifesavers aged eight to fourteen.
Welfare of Dusty and the protection of children’s safety participating in lifesaving training was acknowledged as the shared fundamental objective of those in attendance.
A presentation was delivered by the Water Safety Clare committee, they operate on a voluntary basis and put forward the case for the use of the device. The presentation outlined the technical details of the acoustic device, including comparisons with the sound produced by common watercraft. The device complies with all relevant EU, US and Norwegian safety and operational standards and, as previously stated, is operated under strict licence conditions issued by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Residents and campaigners questioned whether the technology should be used to deter a solitary wild dolphin from the waters she has occupied for a quarter of a century in order to facilitate recreational swimming activities. Campaigners further argued that an acoustic pinger was purchased and used during the summer of 2025 before the appropriate authorisation had been obtained. They state that a licence has since been granted allowing its use in Ireland.
Michael Barrett is among the group opposed to the use of the pinger. “We think there’s eaiser ways of doing it. Take the children out of the water, they did that several times, when Dusty comes in and shows a little bit of aggression they just say ‘out of the water’, we have lifeguards here, they blow the whistle and people get out, for the thunder and lightning last week they came and blew the whistle for everyone to get out of the water. They are saying it is causing distress to the children, our point is that we don’t want to cause distress to the dolphin, the children are put in the water, they can be put in a swimming pool, she is a sea creature and is in the sea so you will see sea creatures when you go into the sea. They may need to think of a better control mechanism, there has to be some way of putting in a deterrent like that.
“The danger for us and it will happen that someday she will be gone, she will have died, Fungi died and they are still mourning the loss of Fungi. Dusty is part and parcel here, we never advertised her, we never ran boats or trips out to her or did Dusty the Dolphin ice-pops and t-shirts, it was kept low key. The best swimmers in Ireland train here, most of them love to see Dusty, there’s always some that might have a fear of her, she is a big creature and if she swims beside you then you will feel some bit of apprehension, she is big and can cause serious injury if you get in her way. Most people are of the attitude, she is not causing any problems so leave her alone, we’re afraid they will use this device the wrong way and cause an incident where something else will have to be done, if she is trapped in the bay and the device goes off or malfunctions maybe she will injure someone then because of being startled”.
Miltown Malbay’s tradition in swimming and lifesaving instruction which spans eighty years was also detailed. The local organisation established decades ago evolved into the Clare Swimming and Lifesaving Association, whose structure and ethos contributed to the development of what is now Water Safety Ireland, the statutory body responsible for drowning prevention throughout the country. This year alone, 141 children between the ages of 8 and 14 are enrolled in Water Safety Clare’s surf lifesaving programme, where they are developing essential water safety and lifesaving skills.
