Electronic News Service                                    ISSN  1464-8156

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The new Premier Membership for the year 2000 also entitles the member to the Official BMLSS CD-ROM (available Spring 2000), which will contain the BMLSS web pages and more information about marine life, together with a selection of other exclusive marine life information, electronic back copies of BMLSS publications, and the full version of TORPEDO Electronic News Bulletin sent to them every month by Email, as well as the other BMLSS Electronic Information Services. The CD-ROM will also contain useful shareware and freeware programs, and should be at least as good value as a computer magazine CD-ROM for the second aspect alone.
 
 

Premier	Membership	Subscriptions
New Member	£28.00
Renewal	£25.00

'A Scientific and Societal Agenda'
12-14 January, 2000
Gulf Shores, Alabama

http://www.thundrs.com/jellyfish/call_for_papers.htm

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.

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
 

June 1999
Rohan Holt discovered a huge 62 acre bed of Mantis Shrimps, Rissoides desmaresti, at a depth of 8 to 15 metres off the coast of north Wales in Cardigan Bay. 

Photograph by Rohan Holt

Although, the plankton have been discovered in the plankton and the adults recovered from the stomach of Cod, this was first discovery I  have heard of these crustaceans in British seas. They live in burrows in huge numbers. Although only 10 cm long, like all Mantis Shrimps (Stomatopods), they are well armed (they have a single serrated digit similar to a preying mantis) and the telson is also heavily spined and capable of inflicting injury. 
More Information
Lurker's Guide to Stomatopods

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24 December 1999
Severe gales batter the south coast of England. Because the gales coincide with high spring tides (as high as they get), the south-east is effected by flooding. 

22 December 1999
Winter Solstice

The last Full Moon of the 20th century is much brighter than normal and can be seen clearly before dusk.
NASA News Item
 
 
 

20 December 1999
A Fin Whale, Balaenoptera physalus, by Paul Semmons as a series of large blows about 7 miles off the coast of Cornwall in the direction of the Isles of Scilly .
The Fin Whale reaches a length of 24 metres (79 ft), and is the second largest species in the world. They are seen mainly in a sea area from north Scotland to south-west Ireland, although they have been seen between Cornwall and Ireland in the last few years. 
Reported by Nick Tregenza  EMail: nick@chelonia.demon.co.uk
Report from Vince Smith's One-List/Cornish Wildlife
British Cetaceans (Baleen Whales)
Cetaceans Information (Cornwall:  Nick Tregenza)

12 December 1999
A small oil tanker Erika with 26,000 tonnes of diesel fuel oil (the worse type of oil for causing environmental damage) sinks off the Biscay coast of Brittany in gale force winds. 
The Erika split in two 45 miles (70 km) south of Brittany's rugged Finistere Peninsula on Sunday morning in 100 km (60 mile) winds and 6 metre (20 foot) waves. The total oil cargo is expected to be released into the sea. 
By 22 December 1999 the prospects looked very grim with the oil slick not broken up by the gales, and it is been blown inshore and is expected to make a large landfall near Ile d'Yea (island in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay) on Christmas Day. The toll of sea birds deaths is already very high.
Oilspills Page

6 December 1999
A young 30 cm long (one foot) babyLoggerhead Turtle, Caretta caretta, weighing 3 kg (6.6 lb), was discovered on a beach on Denmark's west coast by a nature warden and sent to Copenhagen Aquarium.
Loggerhead turtles, one of several endangered species of turtle, measure up to 110 cms (3.5 ft) and can weigh some 70 kg (154 lb) when fully grown.
from  Reuters Planet Ark

November 1999
A report has been received of a Kemp's Ridley Turtle, Lepidochelys kempii, stranded alive in Wales, UK. It is currently being held in St. David's Oceanarium in Wales while arrangements are made for its return to Mexico. This turtle has only one wild breeding site in the Gulf of Mexico and is the world's rarest turtle. 

November 1999
A 2 metre long Striped Dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, was found washed up dead on Spiggie beach in the  Shetland Isles. As this is a rare dolphin in British waters the entire carcass (which was in reasonably good condition) was shipped south for post-mortem analysis by Scottish Natural Heritage. It is only the fourth record of the species in Shetland waters 
Shetland Wildlife Sightings On-line

30 November 1999
Barry Collins reported a roost of 146 Little Egrets, Egretta egretta, on Thorney Island in Chichester Harbour, West Sussex. This is large number for a bird that is not even included in most modern bird books for Britain and Ireland. This number is fall from a count of 281 in September 1999.
More Information (Brian Fellows site)

Information from Ralph Hollins

 

Ralph Hollins Nature Pages
EMail: jrwhollins@clara.co.uk 

 
 
 
 
 

Up until a few years ago they were vagrant, occasional visitors to the south of England only, but they have been especially numerous this year, no doubt attracted by the large shoals of young Bass around this autumn. 
This bird has been recorded since 1826 on the south coast.
A Black Brant (Siberian Brent Goose), Branta bernicla nigricans, has also been reported from Langstone Harbour, West Sussex. 
Havant Nature Notes
BMLSS Sea Birds page

Numbers of Little Egrets on the  Tamar/ Lynher complex in Cornwall peak at about 160-170, mostly in September when the post-breeding dispersal takes place. Around 30-40 spend the winter on the estuary and are best seen from Wacker Quay or Sconner Corner.
Darrell Clegg (Plymouth Library)
Little Egrets in Cornwall (more information and links)

5 November 1999

HISTORIC VICTORY FOR BRITISH MARINE LIFE 
Oil licensing declared illegal until Government changes wildlife policy

The Government was defeated in court today (Friday 5th November 1999) in a landmark legal ruling which protects coral reefs and whales and dolphins in
Britain's North East Atlantic. Mr Justice Kay ruled that all future offshore
oil licensing is illegal until the Government properly applies the EU Habitats Directive. 

In his judgement, Justice Kay told the court that Greenpeace's case that
whales and dolphins can be harmed by oil industry activity was
"substantially uncontradicted" by Government and oil industry evidence, and
that oil exploration was "at least likely" to have an "adverse effect" on
deep water coral reefs. The Judge said that the Government had "clearly" not
applied the Habitats Directive in initiating the next round of oil licensing
in the North East Atlantic.

from
Frontier News, edited by Matthew Spencer and produced by Tom Baker. This extract was copied from the edition written by Rob Gueterbock, Matthew Spencer, Stephanie Tunmore and Ian Taylor.

Editorial queries to frontiernews@uk.greenpeace.org
Greenpeace UK
Canonbury Villas
London N1 2PN
Tel; 0171 865 8100
Fax: 0171 865 8200
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk

 BMLSS Report Forms

• Australasian Nudibranch Newsletter
• The information is on Wayne Ellis's nudibranch web site:
• http://www.ozemail.com.au/~glaskin/nudis_.htm
•  
• December 1999

Andy Horton's Shore Watch column in the Aquarist & Pondkeeper magazine:

 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.
 

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. 

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. 
 
 

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   Previous 5 Sites | Skip Previous | Previous | Next Skip Next | Next 5 Sites |  Random Site | List Sites   ENGLAND ONLINE Search For:      This Wildlife Ring site is owned by Andy Horton Want to join the Wildlife Ring? [Skip Prev] [Prev] [Next] [Skip Next] [Random] [Next 5] [List Sites] Seaquest SW (Cornwall Wildlife Trust)  Vince Smith's One-List/Cornish Wildlife Send a message to the list at: CornishWildlife@onelist.com	Recommended and worthwhile
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)
Cnidaria Web Site (World)

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

These pages are not designed for the default settings on the Page Set-ups of your browser. I recommend viewing in Internet Explorer 5 and altering the right and left hand columns in the Page Set-up menu to 9 mm (from 19 mm).
The page set-up can also be amended in Netscape Composer, and this has the advantage of enabling the specified number of pages to be printed and the information about the file (name, path, date) to be deleted.

Torpedo  compiled by Andy Horton30 December 1999