By Jamie Black

MORE DOLPHINS have been spotted in the River Tay this summer than for many years, providing further evidence of the improving cleanliness of the water off Dundee.

Water-watchers have lost count of the number of pods they have sighted from the Broughty Ferry shore, with the mammals even making their presence known amid the many maritime events taking place in the area over the last few days.

A major reason for their appearance is the ending of raw sewage discharges into the river. Now all effluent is pumped to the Hatton wastewater treatment works, east of Carnoustie.

The £140 million project has allowed the cleanliness of the river and its banks to steadily improve.

Earlier this year Broughty Ferry beach received the Yellow Flag, meaning it is now one of 60 designated bathing waters in Scotland.

The area has become a nicer place for people to visit, but the many pods of dolphins visiting show it has also become more popular for marine life.

The dolphins have stayed away during increased human activity on the river, like jetski-ing, but after the watersports enthusiasts have gone, they have come out in numbers.

Swimmer Claire Moody from the Ye Amphibious Ancient Bathing Association came across a pod while performing a swim between Tayport and Broughty Ferry on Wednesday.

Joyce McIntosh from the bathing association said, “There have definitely been a lot of dolphins out in the water recently. We saw them while Claire was swimming on Wednesday and they were out yesterday. They were absolutely superb.

“The water has been a lot cleaner recently and this obviously brings a lot of wildlife to the area.” She added, “Scottish Water have done a really good job, as we can see right to the bottom of the river, when we couldn’t before.

“We used to get dolphins now and then but it had to be good weather. Now you see them a lot more.

“The other night there were three or four of them together. It must be a family or something, or perhaps some sort of breeding ground for them.”

Professor Robert Duck, chairman of the Tay Estuary Forum, said, “The dolphins have probably been attracted by the recent clean up of the estuary waters.

“The Hatton wastewater works which now treats all sewage pumped in a pipeline from Dundee, means that the estuary is much cleaner.

“Dolphins are attracted to the clean water so this will be one of the main reasons for the sightings.”

They are thought to be bottle-nosed dolphins from the Moray Firth. It is suspected they may be forming a breakaway colony in the estuary.