Electronic News Service                                                     ISSN  1464-8156

Marine Conservation Society
Annual Conference

Venue: Crawford House, Manchester University
Saturday 09:00 to 17:30

Full programme of speakers for Saturday &  Sunday.

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

For more information, contact:
Richard Harrington, Communications Officer on 01989-566017
or Sam Pollard, Director of Conservation on the same number

Marine Conservation Society, 9 Gloucester Road, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 5BU
Tel: 01989-566017 Fax: 01989-567815
www.mcsuk.mcmail.com  www.goodbeachguide.co.uk

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

Leaflet from Devon Wildlife Trust  Tel:  01392 279244.

Coastal Visitors Centre
Salisbury Gardens
Dudley Road
Ventnor
Isle of Wight
PO38 1EJ

Tel:  01983 855400
EMail: coastcent@iwight.gov.uk

The Centre covers many aspects of the coastal zone, which include coastal flora and fauna, marine and inter-tidal archaeology, coastal defence and particularly coastal instability issues.

Husavik

The Whale Watch capital in Iceland is based at Husavik.  Sights include Blue Whales, Humpbacks, Orca, Minkes and Sei Whales, dolphins, porpoises, plus Northern Bottle-nosed Whales.

The page for whale and dolphin spotting around Britain has not been prepared yet.  If you are interested in marine wildlife, including marine mammals, and are planning a holiday in the UK, especially Scotland, it is work clicking on the image "SeaProbe" and having a look at the page:

Also

New Quay Dolphin Monitoring Group, Cardigan Bay, Wales
http://www.ceinewydd.co.uk/

Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the Moray Firth
http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/dolphins.htm

Cornwall:
Dolphins are reported from the south coast of Cornwall regularly during the summer. The Lizard peninsula is a good vantage point. 

Shetland Isles:
Sumburgh Head, the southernmost trip is a regular spot for spotting whales and dolphins as is the ferry to the islands.
 

For more cetacean reports click on the Shetland logo below:

Minimising disturbance to cetaceans from recreation at sea
http://www.wildlife-countryside.detr.gov.uk/whales/rec.htm

Minimising disturbance to Cetaceans from Whale watching operations
http://www.wildlife-countryside.detr.gov.uk/whales/whale.htm
 

26 October 1999
The Public Enquiry about the new Portobello Sewage Works planned for the chalk platform at Telscombe Cliffs, east of Brighton, Sussex begins. East Sussex CC are opposing the plans put forward by Scottish Power (formerly Southern Water) that threatens to damage the SSSI chalk cliffs exposed to the sea.
The Sewage works are required to comply with the EU Directive on secondary treatment of sewage for large towns like Brighton. 
More News on the Plans

16 October 1999
John Shuker from Sark caught a Knobbed Triton, Charonia lampas (L.), in a gill net, to the west of Sark, north of Les Hautes Boues and south of Brehou Island, Channel Islands. 

 
 
 

Knobbed Triton

Illustration by Chris Hicks

It measured 222 mm total length. Weight drained 1128 grams.  The specimen is alive.  I took the Triton to the Guernsey Aquarium on 18 October 1999.
This large gastropod has only been recorded in British seas on a few occasions. It is a southerly species known from the Mediterranean Sea.
More Information

Report by Richard Lord (Guernsey)
EMail:fishinfo@guernsey.net

10 October 1999
Nigel Hunter (Littleborough, Lancashire) discovered a Leatherback Turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, decomposing on  Newborough island beach on the Isle of Anglesey. The turtle was nearly 2 metres long and nearly a metre (90 cm) wide.
BMLSS Turtle Page

10 October 1999
Five Risso's Dolphins, Grampus griseus, were seen between Porthellick and Peninnis, off the east coast of St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly,  in the morning. These dolphins are being more commonly reported off Cornwall in the last two years.
Previous Report
Report from Vince Smith's One-List/Cornish Wildlife
Send a message to the list at: CornishWildlife@onelist.com

9 October 1999
A small Long-finned Pilot Whale, Globicephala melas, (Family: Delphinidae) was spotted by angler John Luff-Smith in the Thames estuary, near Southend, swimming towards London. Although probably not regarded as a special mention from around most of the British coast, they are rarely seen in the south-east, although they are known from the seas off Sussex. 

Report from the Whale & Conservation Society

Cetacean Page

5 October 1999
Several Common (Couch's) Sea Bream, Pagrus pagrus (=Sparus), have been caught in the last few weeks.  There seems to be a small school, probably on Guernsey's east coast, because the same fisherman catches them.  One Couch's Sea Bream caught on September 7 weighed  1.95 kg (4 lb 4¾ oz)  I found one at the fish market (landed on October 5) that weighed 1.72 kg (3 lb 12¾ oz) (total length 45 cm, fork length 39 cm).
This Mediterranean and tropical Atlantic fish is rare in the English Channel and common, but not an abundant fish of sand bottoms and eelgrass beds. It rarely exceeds 50 cm in length and 2.5 kg in weight.

Report by Richard Lord (Guernsey)
EMail:fishinfo@guernsey.net

5 October 1999
Tens of thousands By-the-Wind Sailor, Velella velella, were discovered by Paul Gainey, washed up on the between Gwithian and Mexico Beach beaches on the north coast of Cornwall (see the entry below). They were also reported at Sennen Cove (near Land's End) by Jayne Herbert.

  Photograph by Richard Lord

Jellyfish Page (Velella)
Reports on the Seaquest SW (Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages).

3 October 1999
ThreeOcean Sunfish, Mola mola, were spotted near St. Ives, Cornwall. 

from Brian Stone

Full Report

EMail: Brian.Stone@rebusmedia.com

Reports of the Sunfish from off Cornish shores are frequent during the summer months. In British seas  they vary in size from 40 cm to nearly two metres in length, but they can grow considerably larger.  Some of the observations are listed on the Seaquest SW (Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages).
Sunfish Page

2 October 1999
A Portuguese Man o'War, Physalia physalis, was washed up on  Porthcothan Beach (just south of Padstow) (SW8572), Cornwall. This colonial hydrozoan (jellyfish-like invertebrate animal) has a float bladder that was fully inflated and 22 cm in length. There were quite a thick bunch of stinging tentacles still attached, to a length of about 15 cm. It was washed in with the incoming tide after a period of south-westerly strong winds.
As expected, several more Portuguese Men o'War were discovered, five on Porthcothan, two on Watergate Bay and Paul Gainey found five on Gwithian (Hayle) beaches, over the weekend. Most specimens were alive and some have been placed in an aquarium for further study. 
By Sunday night the tally had increased to 22  from Hayle up to Trevose Head.   The tentacles on the biggest were well over a metre long, possibly twice that length (had they been given the chance to extend fully).
Jellyfish Page (Portuguese Man o'War)

Report by Nick Darke (Cornwall)

Portuguese Men o'War reported over a large area of  the coast of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly . Over 100 specimens and there were probably many more stranded in inaccessible coves. 

Stella Turk (Cornish WWT)

Portuguese Men o'War: Further Information on the Cornwall Wildlife Trust site.
On 8 October 1999, a couple of Portuguese Men o'War were discovered washed up on the west coast of Guernsey, Channel Islands, and this may just the first of a large swarm.

Report by Richard Lord (Guernsey)

26 September 1999
A juvenile Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis, was seen by Stephen Westcott playing around the boats in the Helford River, Cornwall, in the late afternoon.
More information and Reports on the Seaquest SW (Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages).

22 September 1999
A large Tope, Galeorhinus galeus, weighing  between 38 and 40 kg (85 to 90 lb), was tagged and released off the Isles of Mull, Scotland. 
The current rod and line record of , is 37.4 kg (82 lb 8 oz) for a Tope caught off Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex, (southern North Sea) in 1991.
More Information on Tope

(Len Nevell, Sea Angling Report)

18 September 1999
A pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, numbering up to 20 individuals were reported by Hazel Meredith in Fistral Bay, (near St. Ives), Cornwall, (SW7961) in an area occupied by bathers.

Later in the month pods were reported off Perranporth and Crantock, Cornwall.
Small pods of 5 and 7 Bottle-nosed Dolphins were seen in Mount's Bay and Gwithian, Cornwall, on 15 & 17 October 1999.
More information and Reports on the Seaquest SW (Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages).
Cetacean Page.

16 September 1999
A Slipper Lobster, Scyllarus arctus, was trawled up off Wolf Rock, off the Cornish coast, and this was only the second record off the Cornish coast this century. This large crustacean (it looks a bit like a compressed Lobster, and when discovered it is sometimes called a Mantis Shrimp for lack of a proper name) has two shrimp (Crangon)-like pincers and a carapace  probably as wide as a Lobsters, but it is still less than half the length (excluding the long claws of a Lobster). BMLSS records have two specimens discovered off Dorset, one trawled and one seen by a diver, several years ago before the web site records were compiled, from 1996. The Slipper Lobster is a southern species found in the Mediterranean Sea. It is classified in the Infraorder Palinura: see taxonomy notes.
Discovery Report by Doug Herdson. National Marine Aquarium at Plymouth).
Notes by Andy Horton.
Crustacea Page

3 September
The Scottish Executive confirmed  that the South East Islay Skerries on the Scottish island of Islay are to be re-considered as a proposed Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for Harbour Seals, Phoca vitulina vitulina, under the European Community's Habitats Directive. The decision comes after a petition was presented in the legal courts by the owners of an Islay seal sanctuary against the Scottish Executive for its decision to drop the site from its list of proposed SACs. The seal sanctuary is based at the proposed SAC site and releases its seals into the site.
First Report

September 1999
A sick and exhausted six month old female Hooded Seal, Cystophora cristata, found in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, was only the third one  to have been seen  in the islands. She was taken in by Orkney Seal Rescue but unfortunately died after only a few days. For more information, contact Ross Flett, Orkney Seal Rescue. EMail: selkiesave@aol.com. 

Seal Conservation Society
Seals Page

1 August 1999
A large Comber, Serranus cabrilla, was caught by angler Clifton Morris on a fishing trip off Penzance, Cornwall. This fish usually attains a weight of 500 grams at a length of 30 cm, but larger specimens are known. This specimen weighed 440 grams.

      (Len Nevell, Sea Angling Report)

 
 
 

Comber (Photograph by Ricardo Fernandez)

 

The Comber is a fish found in the Mediterranean Sea and off the Atlantic coasts of western Europe, with its most northerly point of distribution in the Bay of Biscay.
 

1 August 1999
The Scottish Wildlife Trust paid tribute to the mystery benefactor whose cash gift enabled them to buy the 56 hectare uninhabited island of Linga Holm, in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, as a sanctuary for Grey Seals, Halichoerus grypus. Linga Holm is the world's third largest island-based breeding colony of Grey Seals with 2,300 pups having been counted there in 1997.
Scottish Wildlife Trust at EMail: scottishwt@cix.compulink.co.uk

Seal Conservation Society
Seals Page

10 July 1999
A White-beaked Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris, was found stranded on the beach dead, west of Shag Rock, Cornwall (SX174507). There are only a handful of records of this dolphin species from the seas around Cornwall. The dolphin had already been attacked by scavengers.
More information and Reports on the Seaquest SW (Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages).
Report by Vivian Nicholls & Victor Copeland.

9 July 1999 
Proposal to include the Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
http://www.wildlife-countryside.detr.gov.uk/gwd/shark/Index.htm

 BMLSS Report Forms

 

The nudibranchs have been identified on 
Jim Anderson's Scottish Nudibranch pages
http://members.aol.com/jander4454/scotnud1.html

• Australasian Nudibranch Newsletter
• The information is on Wayne Ellis's nudibranch web site:
• http://www.ozemail.com.au/~glaskin/nudis_.htm
• November 1999
• Andy Horton's Shore Watch column in the Aquarist & Pondkeeper magazine:

julian cladecott and melanie salmon 

 
©

Living Earth Foundation 1999 
Published by  Ellipsis 
ISBN  1 899858 79 2 
http://www.ellipsis.com
 

This book introduces the reader to the fundamentals of the ocean environment. There are some stunning and unusual colour photographs amongst over 100 that accompany the very readable text., which is written in UK English, Spanish and French. The authors succeed in giving a straightforward explanation of complex issues without giving the casual readers a lot of figures to digest. This may suit some readers who want a picture of the deep world painted out for them, or it may frustrate others with its lack of references and index. Even the experienced will discover something he did not already know. This book will be quite informative to the average marine enthusiast. 

The British Marine Life Study Society web site has reviews of the best marine life books.
URL =  bookhunt.htm.

A full list of MNCR and other JNCC Marine Reports is available from the Marine Information 
Officer, JNCC (address below), or at JNCC*s website 
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/marine. 
JNCC publications can be purchased from 
NHBS Ltd, 2-3 Wills Road, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5XN, UK 
(tel. 01803-865 913; fax. 01803-865 280; e-mail nhbs@nhbs.co.uk). 

Monitoring and reporting on marine Special Areas on Conservation
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Copies are available free from JNCC's Marine Information Team at Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough, PE1 1JY, UK, tel. 01733-562626; fax 01733-555948.

from
Colin McLeod
Marine Publications Officer

These are in addition to the Coastal Directories.
The Coastal Directories series is the 15 regional directories published between 1995 and 1998.
BMLSS Summary at:
JNCC-CD.htm

Selected polychaete families and their feeding mechanisms  by Barrie G M Jamieson (Univ. of Queensland)

Click on the is text for Further Information (including how to order the CD-ROM).
 

by F E Moen & E Svenson
ISBN  82-9082349-5

The text is written in Norwegian, but an English version is planned. For sample photographs go the web site below:

NORWEGIAN MARINE WILDLIFE

Link to sample page of the book so you can see how the text is laid out.

August 1999

The  UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK
by  ANNEMARIE AND DANJA KÖHLER

Published by Stackpole Books,
part of Gazelle Books Tel:  +44 (0)1524 68765
ISBN  0-8117-2966-4

Price:  £16.99

It is only rarely I come across a book as good as this! Assuming you have a basic knowledge of photography, the text explains the choice of equipment for high class underwater photography, maintaining the equipment, understanding the behaviour of light underwater, which film and lens to use, before exploring the art of framing your model; fish, invertebrate or aquascape to provide the best aesthetic portrait. The book contains over 160 of excellent underwater shots from close-ups of individual fish to huge shoals against a backdrop of an invertebrate covered reef. There is also a section of videography. 

I know it beyond the province of the average enthusiast, and the book does not contain any biological information, but the photographs are great! It is also extremely well written. 

None

 Sue Daly produces a Creature Feature every month on her web site.

We had originally planned to bring this service to our  members. However, as Sue is already producing this series, I have decided to devote my energies to producing other information.
 

     Featured Web Page:    Adur Nature Notes
                                      (the Nature Notes links in the left hand column are interesting) 

A similar exhibition is planned for the year 2000. 
Print photographs should be sent in to Glaucus House from March 2000. They could also be used on the BMLSS web sites.
However, if you have a large selection of your own photographs, I would suggest that you should arrange your own exhibitions at a Local Library or similar venue. We will help to advertise the event. 

World Oceans Day:  Details of the BMLSS Exhibitions:

This is a simple project or request to members and readers of this Bulletin. It is to take pictures of the coast when you are next down on the shore. Even general views have value, but ideally we would like photographs of the shore showing the type of rock, topography and rock pools, dominant fauna, and information that cannot be described adequately by words on the Report Cards. The name of the particular coast should be included and the grid reference, if known. Print photographs can be included in Exhibitions and on the BMLSS Web Sites and electronic publications. Electronic images in *.JPG format can also be considered for the web site. Transparency photographs are the best choice of film but these cannot be transferred to the web pages at the present time, but these will be suitable in the future. 

More information and discussion of sea slugs (opisthobranch molluscs) can be found on the 
Sea Slug Forum http://www.austmus.gov.au/seaslugs/

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

There are more entries on the GATEWAY pages of the BMLSS Web Site.
 
 

NEW   Cnidaria Web Site (World)
The WaterWeb Ring [ Prev 5 | Prev | Random | Next | Next 5 ]                          [ List | Add ]	The Water Web Ring
Friends of the Earth SSSI Navigator http://www.foe.co.uk/wildplaces/intros/intro2.html	Useful site to identify SSSIs  If the URL has changed,  please go to the FOE Homepage.
	BIOSIS and the  Zoological Society of London
Biodiversity News (JNCC)	Regular News Bulletins
U.K. ANGLERS' SHARKS, SKATES AND RAYS	For anybody interested in British sharks, this site is a must.
CoralRealm	"A coral reef marine life education web site with 1000 fish, sharks and rays in a searchable database."
The Museum of Paleontology University of California, Berkeley	Probably the best site on the Internet for biological information about groups of organisms Click on the Cowrie to go to the site

Dungeness, Kent, England Orford Ness:  Coastal Ecology of a Shingle Bank (excellent references) Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Shoreham Beach	Shingle Beach sites
Worldwide Sea Anemone DataBase (External Site)
The Fossil Company - Picture Gallery of Fossils	This might help with fossil identification,  but it best on the ecology of the   prehistoric
Geology of the Dorset Coast	Lots of detail
Georgian Center for Environmental Research  (Black Sea)	Tip:  use the "Open in New Window facility"
European Register of Marine Species	Not checked yet
Norway:  Assessment Report on Fisheries and Fisheries related Species and Habitats Issues	North Sea Fishing Stocks
	The Information Resource    for Aquaculture and Fisheries
INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL ELECTRONIC ACCESS LIBRARY	Weekend access for guests
Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Marine Pollution (journal of)

NEW http://www.austmus.gov.au/Index.htm	Excellent
Aquarium Net	Internet Publication for aquarists with extensive marine coverage.  Very Good.
Fishing News Homepage	Recommended, especially for books.
	Contains information on seals and   photographs.
Seaweb	Links and News Bulletins
ENN (Environmental) News  ***	News and campaigns
Planet Ark (Reuters)	News
Sea Mammal Research Unit	Update on seal populations, diets,   telemetry  etc.
Profusion Search Method	One of the best Search methods for   environment and serious information.  Multiple Search Engines.  It is a good tip to used the Advanced   features like typing in a Phrase.
Capt. Tom's Guide to New England   Sharks, USA	Really useful stuff on shark recognition.

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)
including the EBlast Internet Search method
BBC Web Guide
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  - SSSI (Marine Sites) http://www.wildlife-countryside.detr.gov.uk/consult/sssi/10.htm#marine sites
EUCC   European Union for Coastal Conservation
Aquatic Conservation Network

UK DIVING INFORMATION

DIVER MAGAZINE

BRITISH SUB-AQUA CLUB

Some of the images may not display if you have changed your directory for downloaded files.