EVENTS:
16-17
November 2007
Marine
Conservation Society Conferences
"Future
for Sustainable Seafood", Friday 16 November
MCS
Annual Conference "Oceans 2007", Saturday
17 November
Both
events at "Action Stations", Royal Naval Dockyard, Portsmouth
LATEST
NEWS:
24
November 2007
We
saw a Striped Blenny, Parablennius
rouxi, (? ID) off Plymouth. We dived at 50° 17.363N and 004°
00.187W out of Fort Bovisand. It was a flat sandy bottom with low (1 metre)
rocky ridges covered in mixed animal turf at between 22 metres and 24 metres
in depth. There were loads of sponge species and quite a few pink seafans
and Imperial Anemones,
Aureliania
heterocer.
This
blenny
is a Mediterranean species and this would be the first record off the British
coast.
The
ID is not clear. It could be the
Variegated
Blenny Parablennius
pilicornis. The
head tentacles and subsequent observations make this other southern species
more likely.
UK
Diving » Plymouth » Diving from Bovisand
The
long standing (since 1987) UK shore caught
Bass,
Dicentrarchus
labrax, angling record (19
lb)
was broken by a fish that weighed
8.95 kg
(19 lb 11 oz 12 dr) caught
by local angler Steve Cave
at Sandown
Pier, Isle of Wight.
British
Sea Fish Angling Records
21
November 2007
A
five metre long Thresher Shark, Alopias
vulpinus, was
landed at Newlyn
Fish Market and was caught by skipper Roger
Nowell of The
Imogen whilst trawling for squid and John
Dory off Land's End. It weighed weighed
510 kg (1,125 lb) and was the heaviest
on record landed at Newlyn. Comparatively,
the angling record
fish weighed 146 kg. Commercial fishermen have landed Thresher
Sharks up to 400 kg before.
>
21 November 2007
A
massive swarm of billions of jellyfish known
as Mauve Stingers, Pelagia
noctiluca, covering several square
miles and to a depth of 11 metres, wiped out Northern Ireland's only Salmon
farm, killing more than 100,000 fish at Northern
Salmon Co. Ltd. The Salmon
were kept in two large nets about a mile off the coast of the Glens
of Antrim, north of Belfast. The
Salmon
hatchery is on Glenarm River deep within the Castle Estate and the smolt
were transferred by helicopter to pens in Glenarm
Bay. The extent and size of the jellyfish
swarm was unprecedented.
Photograph
of a small Pelagia
noctiluca washed up by Darrell
Campbell
3 November
2007
The
first swarms of thousands of the Mauve
Stingers, Pelagia noctiluca, appeared
off the surfing coast at at Hornish Point, South
Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Their sting was a bit nippy but not
as bad as the larger brown jellyfish we normally get and they made me come
out in a raised rash on my hands and face which stung long after I was
dry.
Full
Report
BMLSS
Jellyfish
16
October 2007
Large
Helford Sea Hares
Tony
Sutton was diving on the eelgrass bed at 5.7
metres depth in the Helford
Voluntary Marine Conservation Area, Cornwall, when he came across some
exceptionally large greenish brown sea-hares (35 cm) which attracted his
attention. When he returned a few days later with his camera he was able
to take some excellent pictures which indicated the species Aplysia
depilans. Confirmation of this
identification was established by Dr
Paul Gainey when one of the animals was
taken briefly from the water.
Full
Report and Photographs on the Helford VMCA News web pages
14
October 2007
Aplysia
fasciata at the National Marine
Aquarium
A
specimen of 30 to 35 cm and weighing 1.5 kg was caught in Poole Bay, Dorset,
just outside of Poole Harbour in a trammel net by John
Green of the FV. Serendipity. It was caught
in 3 - 4 metres of water on sand on a flooding tide, while fishing for
sole and bass. Subsequently a further four large
sea
hares have been caught by fishermen in the
same area.
It
was brought into the National
Marine Aquarium at Plymouth where it is
now on show as our "Feature Creature" in our recently refurbished Shallow
Waters, Hidden Depths exhibit, where it is devouring very large quantities
of sea lettuce Enteromorpha latuca.
Previously,
only six specimens of this southern species of sea
hare have been recorded in British seas.
Sea
Hare, Aplysia fasciata
Aplysia,
the size if which (between 30 & 35 cm) indicates that it is Aplysia
. fasciata. It was photographed swimming
in Helford River,
Cornwall. It was seen by Steve Potter on
25
August 2007.
Aplysia
fasciata is the largest and the rarest of the three species of
sea hare found in the British Isles.
BMLSS
Molluscs
BMLSS
Aplysia
12
September 2007
Working
from a survey vessel south-east of Suðuroy
in the Faroe Islands (north
of Scotland), we witnessed 40 Fin Whales,
Balaenoptera
physalis, plus 10 unidentified large whales
(probably more Fin Whales)
and one Minke Whale, Balaenoptera
acutorostrata. This was over the course
of a sail line some 50 miles in length. We thought we also saw a Sei
Whale, Balaenoptera borealis.
I
am sure there are other places in the world that this spectacle occurs,
but this area seems to hold a staggering number of these huge cetaceans.
I have only encountered such numbers once before, in 2002
and in the same region.
BMLSS
Cetacea
10
September 2007
We
were hauling monkfish nets about 20 miles out to sea off Cornwall when
a grey strange worm-like creature
came up through the net hauler, it had wrapped itself up in the net. It
looks like something out of X-files for sure. It had no real visable eyes
or mouth. After initially wriggling round frantically for a couple of minutes;
it played dead. After taking a couple of photographs with my phone, I scooped
it up with the trusty shovel and flipped it over the side. It promptly
swam away in an eel or snake-like fashion. It was about 60 cm long.
Report
and Images by Sharpshooter on the World
Sea Fishing Forum
The
Nemertean "worm" was identified by myself and
Richard
Lord (Guernsey) of the genus Cerebratulus.
More
notes
5 September
2007
An
astonishing 462+ Basking Sharks, Cetorhinus
maximus, were seen in the morning between
Longships and The
Brisons, off the west of the Cornish mainland! Accompanying the
sharks were many Gannets,
suggesting that fish and plankton would have been present. Also, in much
the same place (10 km sq. SW 33) between
20 and 24 Risso’s Dolphins, Grampus
griseus, and 35 Common
Dolphins Delphinus delphis, were
recorded.
BMLSS
Basking Sharks
20
August 2007
An
Almaco
Jack,
Seriola
rivoliana, was caught by an angler from a boat at the entrance
to Chichester Harbour, Sussex.This
southern fish is rarely caught in British seas and was probably the very
first one recorded and identified
(by Dr.
William Smith-Vaniz) in the seas off Sussex.
Two
more Almaco Jacks have
been caught since the above one, one from Grand Rocque Bay on the west
coast of Guernsey on
29
August 2007 and
another
from just off Crantock
in north Cornwall by Newquay fisherman Phil
Trebilcock at the beginning of September
2007.
BMLSS
Seriola Jacks
10
August 2007
Mark
Guppy clearly spotted a Broad-billed
Swordfish,
Xiphias
gladius*,
that jumped out of the water about 800 metres from the Condorferry beyond
Old
Harry Rocks about five miles off Poole Harbour, Dorset, in the English
Channel. (*Species assumed without precise
identification.)
BMLSS
Swordfish
20
July 2007
Fisherman
Pip
Farline landed
a 3 metres long Thresher Shark,
Alopias
vulpinus,
that had become entangled
in his salmon nets, 200 metres off Filey,
near Scarborough, Yorkshire. Thresher Sharks
are
a pelagic species that are occasionally seen inshore in the English Channel,
but are much rarer in the North Sea and the last one reported from off
the Yorkshire coast was over 80 years ago. The length includes its abnormally
long tail that it uses to strike or thresh fish.
BMLSS
Sharks
8
July 2007
For
the first time in 10 years, with an incredible 300+ Common
Dolphins, Delphinus delphis, were
seen in the outer southern Moray
Firth in NE Scotland along the Southern Trench on our Minke
Whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata,
survey.
BMLSS
Cetacea
15
June 2007
We
have discovered what appears to be a mature female "berried" specimen of
the Slipper Lobster,
Scyllarus
arctus, from SW Ireland. It was taken in a lobster pot. We have
kept it alive in a tank in Dingle
Oceanworld.
This
would appear to be the first record of this species from Irish waters.
Records from off Cornwall are rare with about 27
records off Cornwall (mostly around the Isles of Scilly ) and off Plymouth
(Devon).
Previous
Report
2001
Report and Notes (by Doug Herdson)
British
& Irish Public Aquaria List
2 June
2007
Adur
was one of the UK leaders in presenting an environmental exhibition of
World
Oceans Day,
Shoreham-by-Sea, with exhibits
hosted by local experts and enthusiasts of the undersea world. Live lobsters
and crabs, a rock
pool aquarium, the whale
and dolphin exhibition, a touch table of strandline
exhibits found on the shore and other interactive displays was on display
under the marquee on on Coronation
Green overlooking the River
Adur by the Footbridge.
Adur
World Oceans Day was run by a committee comprising representatives
of the
British Marine Life Study Society, West
Sussex County Council,
the
Sea
Watch Foundation, Friends of Shoreham
Beach, Friends of Widewater Lagoon, Shoreham
Greenpeace and other groups, with support
from
Adur
District Council.
28
April 2007
Ray
Fallaize caught a record Couch's
Sea-Bream,
Pagrus
pagrus, on rod and line from a boat
in Guernsey waters. His capture has been accepted by the British Record
Angling Committee. It weighed 6 lb
9 oz 7 drams (3 kg). Its
total length was 560 mm and fork length was 495 mm.
Full
Report
British
Sea Angling Records
Sealord
Photography
21
April 2007
A
Basking
Shark, Cetorhinus maximus,
was seen near the Lizard,
Cornwall, swimming out to the Point.
Basking
Shark
Photograph
of 10 July 2006
by Seb de Gange
March
2007
A
Deal
Fish, Trachipterus
arcticus, was captured by the
Dingle-based
trawler Rosses Fisher fishing at a depth of
only 50 metres off the Blasket Islands (SW Ireland). It the first recorded
landing of one from the Dingle Bay area in over 35 years.
Later
Report
March
2007
Fishermen
out of Shoreham Harbour (Sussex) continue to
capture a handful of the Short-snouted
Seahorses,
Hippocampus
hippocampus, in the nets on every
trip out. They are all returned to the sea.
BMLSS
Seahorses
11
February 2007
Thousands
of Snake Pipefish,
Entelurus
aequoreus, were washed up dead and alive
on the north-east coast of England after being blown in by easterly winds.
I received an unprecedented eleven reports.
Multiple
Reports Page
BMLSS
Pipefish
31
January 2007
A
commercial fisherman landed a rare Fan
Mussel, Atrina fragilis, caught
in 100 metres of water somewhere south-east of Sark (to the east of the
Longue Bank) in the Channel Islands.
27-28
January 2007
After
the gales even more (at least seven over the weekend) reports of Snake
Pipefish,
Entelurus aequoreus,
were received from the east coast of
England from Northumberland to Essex. Some were washed up dead and others
were returned to the sea alive.
BMLSS
Pipefish
21
January 2007
The
huge 276 metre long container vessel Napoli was deliberately grounded
one mile off Branscombe
Bay, Lyme Bay,
Devon, on the Jurassic Coast World
Heritage Site. The ship contained 1650 tonnes of fuel oil plus diesel
and some of this leaked over the following days causing an oil slick several
kilometres long and fatally oiling at least 600 sea birds, mostly Guillemots
in the first four days.
BBC
News Reports:
Stranding
Oiled
Birds
Oil
Slick
BMLSS
Oil Disasters page
Cornish
Marine Life Records 2006
Cornish
Marine Life Records 2007 (Ray Dennis Records)
