Field Trips on: 
Sunday 25 October 1998 -
"Unravelling rocks and climatic change on the Helford River"
a coastal walk with Pat Sargeant 2.00 - 4.30 p.m. 
Rosemullion to Durgan. Meet at Mawnan Church car park above Parson's Beach, Helford River (SW 7878 2723). 
Bring weatherproof clothing, robust footwear and refreshments as required. 

Ring Pamela Tompsett  Tel:   01872 273939 for more details. 
Pamela Tompsett   EMail petomp@cornwt.demon.co.uk

(BMLSS file:  Black 67) 

BUCKLAND LECTURES 1998

Dr Martin Angel, the Buckland Professor for 1998, will give public lectures on the topic of 

“The Deep-Ocean: Use and Misuse”
on Monday, 7 September at 19.30 h within the programme of Oceanography 98 at 
Southampton Oceanography Centre
on Wednesday, 9 September at 16.50 h within the programme of the 
1998 BAAS meeting in Cardiff
and on Thursday, 29 October at 15.30 h at the University of Stirling

Each of these sessions is open to any member of the public without charge. 

For more details of the three lectures please contact John Ramster, the Clerk to the Buckland Foundation via jramster@lineone.net or phone/fax UK: 01505  615402 
or by post at 3 Woodside Avenue, Bridge of Weir.  PA11 3PQ. 

8 November (Sunday).  Seasalter. Meet at Blue Anchor Corner TR 082 650. 
 8.30 AM.  Mud flats and clay shore, tiles and mussel beds. 

All enthusiasts welcome. 

Contact:  Ian Tittley  EMail

(BMLSS file:  Black 67) 

Wembury Bay  Rockpool Rambles
Contact  Wembury Marine Centre  Tel:  01752 862538

Leaflet from Devon Wildlife Trust  Tel:  01392 279244.

Marine Conservation Society
Annual Conference

David Bellamy will launch the Marine Conservation Society's Annual Conference on the marine environment. 

at  Boldrewood Conference Centre, University of Southampton 

Full programme of speakers for Saturday &  Sunday. 

Contact: MCS Tel: 01989 566017   Fax: 567815   EMail: mcsuk@mcmail.com

Speakers include: Sue Daly, Sarah Fowler, Ken Collins, Chris Wood, Elizabeth Wood, Bob Earll, Robert Irving, 

ECOHEALTH 98
ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE
River Ocean Research (RORE)
Community Base, Queens Road, Brighton

Friday 20th November    FUTURE SEAS 
Saturday 21 November   A Sense of Place 
Sunday 22 November 
FIELD TRIP: GUIDED WALK THROUGH HOPE GAP
Take this opportunity to explore this beautiful natural habitat, where the Cuckmere river flows into the sea, with local enthusiasts. 
Free. 

Small charge for the first two days. 
RORE AT 113-117 QUEENS ROAD, BRIGHTON BN1 3XG 
Tel: 01273 234032   EMail  rore@gn.apc.org
River Ocean Research & Education (Brighton)

MARINE WILDLIFE NEWS

• Reports of marine wildlife from all around the British Isles, with pollution incidents and conservation initiatives as they affect the flora and fauna of the NE Atlantic Ocean. 

  ---

  29 September 1998
• A Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia, was spotted on the small flooded area next to the ferry terminal at Symbister on Whalsay, Shetland Isles. This large and very white bird with its characteristic large spoon-shaped bill was discovered during the early evening and was happily 'spooning' through the water right alongside the road. It is only the fourth record of the species in Shetland and only the second record this century. 
• More information on the Shetland Wildlife News Web Site

• 21 September 1998
• A Sea Hare, Aplysia depilans, floated into St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey, British Channel Islands on September 21.  It weighed 242 grams and was 147 mm long and  80 mm wide.  The parapodia of Aplysia depilans are fused posteriorly.
•  
•        Aplysia depilans
•  
• This is the first A. depilans I have seen although in June and July of this year I saw at least one hundred A. punctata either spawning on seaweed or washed up on Guernsey beaches.  (Report by Richard Lord from Guernsey, EMail:fishinfo@guernsey.net).

 

• September 1998
• Two huge Porbeagle Sharks, Lamna nasus, were caught from two Sunderland based salmon fishing boats. Very large sharks are caught every three to four years. The first shark was estimated to weigh 190 kg (420 lb), and the second a massive (unbelievable) 363 kg (800 lb). The British and World angling record is 230 kg (507 lb). Angling Records Link Page. The British record for the Mako Shark, Iso oxyrinchus, is about the same, although the world records for this shark stands at 506 kg.  The seas around Coquet Island (near Amble) are a regular haunt of Porbeagles if they are present. In August, two Porbeagles were caught in the sea off  the Tyne, an event that occurs every year, and in late September, one measuring 2.3 metres long was landed at Hartlepool.

• 13 September 1998
• Six Pilot Fish, Naucrates ductor, were caught in a Pilchard net in Mevagissey Bay, Cornwall, about 100 metres offshore. The fish were about 20 cm (8 in) long. Unfortunately, they did not survive their incidental capture and could not be housed alive in Mevagissey Harbour Marine Aquarium. One fish remained alive long enough for its natural colours to be discerned. It was slate-grey with 5 purple-black stripes. This fish has a keel preceding the tail fin. The white tips to the tail fin and the anal fin were more noticeable than the books usually show. This fish has a series of small spines preceding the first dorsal fin. The Pilot Fish is a rare visitor to the south-west of Britain. It acquired its common name from its habit of accompanying sharks, turtles and large floating objects. The best guess is that it accompanied the Basking Sharks that were unusually common this year. There are no British angling records for this small fish.
• (Report by Chris Gilbertson from Mevagissey Harbour Marine Aquarium.)
• The Pilchard fishery has resumed on a small scale off Mevagissey about 6 years ago after a long absence.

• September 1998
• Although the total number of Blue Sharks, Prionace glauca, were down  this year from boats going out from Looe (the sharks are returned alive), a specimen was caught by Gary McCall from Ruislip, Middlesex, (on the boat "Swallow" skippered by Murray Collins), that exceeded their scales and estimated to weigh 71 kg (157 lb).  It was 2.6 metres (8 ft 7") long with a girth of 95.25 cm (37¹/₂ in). The British record is 68.5 kg (151 lb) from Looe in 1959.

• August 1998

A pair of Northern Bottle nosed Whales, Hyperoodon ampullatus, visited Broadford Bay, Isle of Skye. These were almost certainly immature animals as they were only 5.5 to 6 metres long, adults can grow up to 9.5 metres. They are very rare in inshore waters, they normally live off Nova Scotia, and north Atlantic waters. They are probably the deepest diving of all the whales with the ability to dive to over 1,500 metres and can allow over 1 hour between breaths. The whales were very active and breached regularly between 1 and 2 hour periods, giving spectacular displays.

The whales never appeared distressed, although at times they were in alarmingly shallow water, less than 5 metres. They always returned to deeper water if ever they got too close to the beach. At about week 3-4 we noticed the whales had lost weight and it was obvious they were not eating. In the last week their behaviour changed and they started to disappear for long periods underwater which I interpreted as hunting forays.
Report by Nigel Smith  EMail: seaprobe@msn.com
Further information

• Famous Faces in Fishkeeping:  Andy Horton 
• Andy Horton's Shore Watchcolumn in the Aquarist & Pondkeeper magazine:
• Origins of the names of fishes.
•  
• September 1998
• National Geographic Magazine
• Greenland Sharks 

Lurking beneath the Arctic ice, huge sharks consume seals and other large prey as if they were mere morsels. For the first time these sluggish, nearly blind creatures are photographed in their frigid habitat. Article and photographs by Nick Caloyianis. 

NEW BOOKS

The keeping of live corals in captivity is still the subject of controversy for two reasons. Firstly, the damage to the natural environment which could be caused by their removal. Responsible collection is unlikely to cause any damage to the reefs, and the destruction of coral reefs on a large scale "is a result of water pollution either with chemicals or silt." 

The second more contentious issue is whether corals can actually be kept successfully by the home aquarist. This is the subject that the author brings his 40 years of experience to inform the reader of the general requirements of tropical corals in captivity. 

The book assumes the aquarist has a basic understanding of the establishment and upkeep on marine aquaria. It briefly explains the biology of corals and then examines the requirements of each individual species with some clear and attractive photographs by Walt Deas. A clear distinction is made between 'hermatypic' corals that use zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae) and 'ahermatypic' corals that are predators which will eat anything they can paralyze with their stinging tentacles'. Each 
species is colour coded with the level of experience needed in keeping them. 

This book is essential reading for any marine aquarist wishing to keep tropical corals. I would like to have seen more precise information on the lighting levels. The hard book  has 285 glossy pages with excellent colour photographs, often two, on nearly every page. It is an exceptionally well produced book. 

The book contains an index and bibliography. 

ISBN  0-7506 2088-9 
 

However, despite being a difficult read it contains lots of useful and interesting information, which can be relied upon. The book covers all the oceans of the world and contains a comprehensive bibliography updated from the earlier editions. Recommended. 

FEATURED SPECIES

A New Series as part of the TORPEDO initiative is planned for 1998. This will feature a selected species of fish, crab, molluscs, sea anemone or some other invertebrate every month. If you wish to receive this service please indicate. 

Torpedo EMail:  Glaucus@hotmail.com

This service has fallen foul of the computer breakdown. Try the following web pages: 

GATEWAY: NEW LINKS TO OTHER SITES

The British Marine Life Study Society Web Site has been included as an Encylopaedia Britannica Recommended Site and included on the BBC On-line Internet Guide.
 
 

BMLSS  GATEWAY 1

BMLSS  GATEWAY 2:   Britain & Europe

BMLSS  GATEWAY 3:   America & the Rest of the World

UK BIODIVERSITY
FISHBASE FISHFINDER
CHANNEL ISLANDS MARINE WILDLIFE PAGE
NORWEGIAN MARINE WILDLIFE
PUBLIC AQUARIA DATABASE
SHETLAND NEWS WEBSITE
BRITISH MARINE FISH DATABASE (UK SEA FISHING)
Please see our entry in the BBC Web Guide (NATURE) (FISH)
SHARK TRUST (EUROPEAN ELASMOBRANCH ASSOCIATION BRITISH BRANCH)
FRANK BUCKLAND & THE BUCKLAND FOUNDATION
MARLIN Marine Life Information Network
National Geographic
Dept. of the Environment, Transport & the Regions  - Press Releases - (not updated very often)
EUCC   European Union for Coastal Conservation