EVENTS:
11-15
November 2008
World Conference
on Marine Biodiversity
Valencia,
Spain
The
exploration of marine biodiversity: scientific and technological challenges
To
review the current understanding of marine biodiversity, its role in marine
ecosystem functioning and its socio-economic context
To
assess current and future threats and potential mitigation strategies for
conservation and regulation of marine resources
To
identify future research priorities
First
Announcement (Link)
Full
Details (Link)
LATEST
NEWS:
27
September 2008
I
was fishing near Treyarnon
Bay south of Padstow,
Cornwall, and caught a Giant Goby, Gobius
cobitus. I have been fishing for 30 odd years
and have not seen the like of it before. It was about 20 cm long and its
identity was confirmed from internet image searches. It was safely unhooked
and returned to the sea.
BMLSS
Giant Goby
Early
September 2008
A
rare deep water Sowerby's Beaked Whale,
Mesoplodon
bidens, was washed up dead at Periglis
in the west of the island of St. Agnes in the Isles of Scilly , west of
Cornwall.
Just
400 meters away on the same beach, an infant Risso’s
Dolphin, Grampus
griseus, was also discovered.
Whales
& Dolphins in British Seas
BMLSS
Cetaceans
30
August 2008
Portuguese
Man-o'-War, Physalia physalis,
washed up on Pendine
Sands
in Carmarthenshire, south Wales.
Photograph
and Report by Chris English
BMLSS
Beachcombing
17
August 2008
Nine
potentially
Portuguese Man-o'-War, Physalia
physalis, were washed up on the West Sussex coast. The creatures,
which can give a nasty sting, were found on beaches at Bracklesham
Bay, East Wittering, West Wittering and Selsey.
11
August 2008
Three
Portuguese
Man-o'-War, Physalia physalis,
were washed ashore on the Dorset coast, notably one at
Kimmeridge
Bay which was placed on display in the Marine
Life Centre.
6
August 2008
Sperm
Whale grounded at Alturlie Point, near Inverness, Scotland
Photograph
by Peter
Thompson on flickr
A 40
tonne, 13 metre long Sperm Whale, Physeter
macrocephalus,
became stranded in shallows at Alturlie,
between Inverness and Fort George on the Moray
Firth, north-east coast of Scotland. When the tide
receded on this muddy shore the whale
suffered a slow death.
Whales
& Dolphins in British Seas
BMLSS
Cetaceans
4 August
2008
I
discovered a Portuguese Man-o'-War, Physalia
physalis, on Southsea
seafront, Portsmouth, to the east of the pier. This particular one was
transparent rather than the distinctive blue colour and was only identified
by its shape and form. The sting on the
palm of my hand was mild but persistent and still felt ten days afterwards.
Portuguese
Man-o'-War are a jellyfish type type of colonial
hydroid that are washed up on western shores and sometimes on the English
Channel coast in small numbers in some (less than half) years.
A
Portuguese Man-o'-War was also washed up at Smuggler's
Cove, Holcombe, near Teignmouth, in south Devon.
BMLSS
Jellyfish and other Medusa
BMLSS
Portuguese
Man-o'-War
31
July - 1 August 2008
An
eight metre long Northern Bottle-nosed
Whale, Hyperoodon
ampullatus, became stranded in Langstone
Harbour, east Hampshire. It was very sick with suspected kidney failure
and after it was beached the second time, the whale was euthanased with
a fatal dose of the fast-acting anaesthetic Immobilon.
The
Northern
Bottle-nosed Whale is a deep water species.
It is usually observed off the Atlantic coasts of northern Britain and
Ireland, during the summer months. This species has a very pronounced forehead
and in many ways resembles a very large
Bottle-nosed
Dolphin,
Tursiops
truncatus. This whale feeds mainly
on squid
which is not available in large enough quantities in the English Channel.
BMLSS
Cetaceans
BMLSS
Whales & Dolphins (by Steve Savage)
26
July 2008
I found
a Giant Goby, Gobius
cobitus, in a rockpool at Portholland
beach, south Cornwall. This one was in rude health, and was released of
course following some photography. I didn't have the good fortune to have
a ruler with me but would estimate the fish to be approx. 20 cm long.
The
Giant
Goby is a protected
species and collection is forbidden.
BMLSS
Gobies
21
July 2008
A
large male European Lobster,
Homarus
gammarus, weighing in at 5.88 kg (12 lb
15 oz) was captured by fisherman Jack
Baker and has found a home as a special exhibit
at the National
Marine Aquarium at Plymouth. It was one
of the largest lobsters captured in recent years and many lobster fishermen
will spend a lifetime without capturing such an enormous one.
BBC
News Video
Notes
on the sizes of Homarus gammarus
6 July
2008
A
large European Lobster,
Homarus
gammarus, weighing in at 4.25 kg (9.45 lb)
was caught on rod and line by angler Neil
Ridley off West Hoe Pier, Plymouth. It was
returned to the sea.
BMLSS
Lobsters
3
July 2008
Broad-billed
Swordfish
Photograph
by Colin Smith
(Amgueddfa
Cymru - National Museum Wales)
A Broad-billed
Swordfish,
Xiphias
gladius,
was discovered washed up dead on Barry
Island beach, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It was carefully
examined by Dr Peter Howlett, (Curator of
Lower Vertebrates, National Museum, Wales)
who confirmed the identification and found it to be a young specimen 2.24
metres long and between 60 and 80 kg in weight. It had been dead
only a few days, but it had been scavenged by other creatures and it was
not possible to determine the cause of its death.
Full
Report
BMLSS
Swordfish Reports
BMLSS
Beachcombing
1 July
2008
WARNING
I
was badly stung by a Snakelocks Anemone,
Anemonia
viridis, whilst swimming in an intertidal
bathing pool at Dancing
Ledge, Purbeck, Dorset.
Full
Report
Stings
from Snakelocks Anemones
British
Marine Life News 2007
Cornish
Marine Life 2007 (Ray Dennis Records)
BMLSS
Oil Disasters page
