The Cardigan Bay Monitoring Project is based in New Quay, West Wales, and supports the conservation management of the bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise and grey seal populations of Cardigan Bay, monitoring their abundance, distribution, reproductive success and population structure using a combination of vessel-based, land-based and acoustic surveys. Sea Watch has been monitoring these populations on behalf of the Welsh government (through funding provided by the Countryside Council for Wales, now called Natural Resources Wales) for over a decade. Cardigan Bay contains Britain’s largest coastal population of bottlenose dolphins, for which two special areas of conservation have been established under the EU Habitats Directive.
Every year, we recruit seven Research Interns (RI) for every research period (7-8 week blocks) as well as an Education and Outreach Assistant (EA), at least one National Whale and Dolphin Watch Assistant (NWDWA) and one Research Assistant (RA).
If you are interested in finding out more, before the application window opens, you can find the descriptions for each role below. Please note that the individual role descriptions differ significantly from each other, each requiring varying lengths of commitment as well as different levels of experience in areas such as research, team management and public awareness work.
All roles are unpaid, however, thanks to the Tallie Brazier Fund, bursaries are available for the Research Assistant and Education and Outreach Assistant. Accommodation is provided for the Research Assistant and Education and Outreach Assistant free of charge.
Applications for the 2025 season are now open for the roles of Research Intern, Research Assistant and Education & Outreach Assistant!
RESEARCH INTERN
To find out more about this role and how to apply, click here.
RESEARCH ASSISTANT & INTERN COORDINATOR
To find out more about this role and how to apply, click here.
EDUCATION & OUTREACH ASSISTANT
To find out more about this role, click here.
NWDW ASSISTANT
To find out more about this role, click here.
