On-line connection to the British Marine Life Study Society web pages
Index for the Torpedo News Bulletins
Link to the forum for marine wildlife of the NE Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas
LINKS
GATEWAY:  Links
GATEWAY:  Further European Links
New EMail address
BIOMAR
BRITISH MARINE LIFE ORGANISATIONS
Courses (Marine Life)
Discussion Groups
FISHBASE
MARIS
Marine Information Service
Netherlands
MARLIN
(Marine Life Information Network)
MERMAID
Marine Nature Conservation Review Survey Database
National Biodiversity Gateway
National Biodiversity Network
World Oceans Day
FOR THE YOUNGER
AGE GROUP
Link to an on-line page for younger students of the seashore. Spider Crab and youngsters at Adur World Oceans Day 2002 (Photograph by Duncan Morrison)
7-14 years

Norwegian Marine***

 
 
 
 

 

Monthly electronic news bulletin for the marine life of the NE Atlantic Oceans including the seas and seashore around the British Isles. 
The bulletin is designed for Microsoft Explorer 4 and above using medium fonts at a resolution of 800 x 600.
Subscribe and unsubscribe options are at the foot of this page.
If you receive this bulletin as an EMail subscriber, you may find the best way to view the file is on your hard disc in your directory of Incoming EMails.

MARINE LIFE 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.
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8 December 2004
A pod of seven White-beaked Dolphins,Lagenorhyncus albirostris, off Dungeness, Kent. They gave a spectacular display including leaping clear of the water as they fed and were in view for most of the afternoon. I have looked at the sea on an almost daily basis at Dungeness since 1989 and this is the first time I have seen White-beaked Dolphins.

NB:  This species of dolphin is not often recorded in the eastern English Channel.
BMLSS Cetacea
 

7 December 2004
Commercial fisherman Andy Le Prevost trawling on the Lady Patricia caught a Almaco Jack, Seriola rivoliana, (originally identified as a Guinean Amberjack, Seriola carpenteri),  on the south-west Casquet bank, near the Channel Islands, at night.
ID Details

Guinean Amberjack, Photograph   ©  Richard Lord

The fish was caught at a water depth of 25 metres. The fish was small (length; 30.7 cm, weight 637 grams) and similar in size to the specimen caught by George Staples east of Herm Island on 7 September 2000. The sea temperature was 11.7°C. My records indicate that this is the fourth confirmed Amberjack species caught in Channel Island waters.
Full Details
Previous Record


1 December 2004
Guernsey commercial fisherman Steve Fallaize landed a handsome Couch's
Sea Bream, Pagrus pagrus, on weighing 2688 grams whole (5.93 lb). The fish was netted in a water depth of about 20 to 25 metres over a mixed shell-gravel bottom off Guernsey's west coast. This is the largest Couch's Sea Bream that I have recorded in Guernsey.

Couch's Sea Bream (Photograph  ©   Richard Lord)

Small Couch's Sea Bream have been frequently landed in recent years around the Channel Islands, but this is a southern fish and it is uncommon any further north. 
 


16 November 2004
A commercial fisherman gill netted a 15 cm long Tadpole Fish, Raniceps raninus, off the Pea Stacks on Guernsey's south coast. This is a solitary rather than an unusual fish from around the Channel Islands and all my Guernsey records for this species occur between November and early April.

Report by Richard Lord (Guernsey)


November 2004
A small Big-eyed Tuna, Thunnus obesus, was reported caught on road and line off south-west England. This is the first record on these report pages and the only previous record seems to be from 1985. Further details are not available at the time of writing. 

BMLSS Tunnies

30 October 2004
Seahorse (Photograph by Jan Light)A Whiting was caught on rod and line four miles out of Brighton, Sussex, and it promptly regurgitated a Seahorse, Hippocampus sp. Seahorses are not known off the Sussex coasts, although I have received at least one unconfirmed sighting before. This is probably the Short-snouted Seahorse,Hippocampus hippocampus. (It is usually the shallow water species Hippocampus guttulatus that has been recorded off the Dorset coast.) 

BMLSS Seahorse Page
Seahorse Trust
Seahorse Survey
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All reports by Andy Horton unless the credits are given 
to other observers or reporters.
 
 

Links for News Reports:

Nature Notes Webring

Helford (Cornwall) Marine Conservation Area

Friends of Moray Firth (NE Scotland) News Page

Sussex at Sea News Page

Cornish Marine Wildlife News

Cornish Marine Sightings Archives 2003


PICTURE GALLERY

Each month, at least one special marine image will be published from images sent to the BMLSS. This can be of the seashore, undersea world or any aspect of the marine natural world, especially the underwater life, but not restricted to life beneath the waves. Topical inclusions may be included instead of the most meritorious, and images will be limited to the NE Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas, marine and seashore species and land and seascapes.

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13 November 2004
A Pogge, or Armoured Bullhead, Agonus cataphractus, was photographed under Selsey Lifeboat Station at a depth of four metres in a sand and muddy area with a few areas of hard clay bedrock. The sea temperature was 11° C.

Pogge (Photograph by David Cropp)

 

Report and Photograph by David Cropp


The Pogge (it is not clear how often this book name is used) or Armoured Bullhead or Hooknose, is a fish that is rarely reported by divers, anglers, fishermen, rockpoolers or shrimpers, but this absence is not because it is rare. It is believed to be common in the shallow seas over sand around most of the British coast and it is one of the small fish most often washed up dead on the strandline of Sussex. Its small size and favoured habitats means that its is not caught on rod and line and it inhabits the rather barren sea bed areas that are of little interest to divers. It swims over sand and its sensory organs around its mouth indicates it feeds on organisms in the sand, probably worms and shrimps. They is a complete absence in the BMLSS records of live specimens caught on the shore. 
It should be confused with the often encountered Short-spined Bullhead (or Sea Scorpion), Taurulus bubalis.

 

Whelks laying eggs at Selsey in shallow water (4 metres depth) off the Sussex coast (13 November 2004)
Photographs by David Cropp

Shore Topography Series

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. They should not exceed 150K in size.

Photographers submitting pictures should indicate if they wish them to be considered fro inclusion as confirming permission takes work and time and can delay publication of the news bulletins. 

Shore Topography Portfolio
 

Link to more marine life photographs

Click on the album for more links (On-line link)
 
 


 

 


DIARY

In chronological order, the most recent events are at the top of the page. Events open to the public, free or for a nominal charge only are included. Most Seminars need to be booked in advance.
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BIOSIS  Conference Calendar for Zoology 

(Major Link of all biological conferences around the world)

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Plymouth

Talks Series 2004

Further Information Link

  Facilities are available for schools, linked to the national curriculum. 

Talks start at 7:00 p.m.
at the National Marine Aquarium, Coxside, Plymouth Devon.
Admission – Adults £2.50; Children and NMA members £1.50, inclusive of refreshments will be available.

Please reserve your place by calling the Aquarium on 01752 275204
 

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SAMS Seminar Series
The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Dunbeg, Oban, Argyll PA37 1QA
Tel: 01631 559000 Fax: 01631 559300 Email: mail@dml.ac.uk
For more details/how to find SAMS see our website: http://www.sams.ac.uk

Unless otherwise stated, seminars are held on Fridays at 4:15 pm
in the SAMS Conference Room ** Followed by the Friday R&R **
 

5 December 2004
- Eric Breuer (SAMS) Oxygen dynamics in contrasting marine environments
 

For more details on the forthcoming talks, please contact Murray Roberts  or Anuschka Miller  Tel: 01631 559 000  Diary

For information contact Dr Hamish Mair  or Anuschka Miller  Tel: 01631 559 000
 

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back to Southampton Oceanography Centre Homepage

A series of monthly talks on marine conservation topics
These talks are open to the public, admission is free.

FOR DETAILS OF SEMINARS AND OTHER EVENTS PLEASE CLICK ON THE LOGO ABOVE TO BROWSE THE WEB PAGES

2 December 2004
Stunning marine life images – Alex Mustard

6 January 2005
Gorgonian corals as climate indicators – Zoe Bond

The Marine Life Talks are held on the first Thursday of the month at 7.30 pm, please arrive at 7.15 pm to be met in Reception. Southampton Oceanography Centre is reached via Dock Gate 4 (between Town Quay and Ocean Village). Please confirm that the talk is taking place before arriving unannounced. 

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Porthleven (near Helston), Cornwall

Aerial Multimap Location (Link)

Porthleven Old Lifeboat Station    ©  Silver DolphinThe Silver Dolphin marine conservation and diving centre is dedicated to the conservation and protection of all marine life. Click on the image for the full list of events. 

To help protect the marine environment we run a full training programme of conservation courses and PADI scuba diving training.

Ideally placed in the old lifeboat house Porthleven why not come and discover the wonders of the Cornish coastline and underwater world!
 

Places on the courses must be booked in advance
 

Link for Activities
 

  DIVE INTO EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES:
 

There will be a charge of £15 for the try dives and £5 for the snorkelling (if you need to hire snorkelling equipment).  For bookings contact the Silver Dolphin Centre on 01326 572002
 
 



 
 
PUBLIC AQUARIA NEWS
 

The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth have several web pages for information on this new dive site. Please click on the logo for more information. 

 

 Public Aquaria List

 
 
NEW PUBLICATIONS & WEB PAGES

CD-ROMs

 
Multimedia Interactive 'Sea Shore Antics' CD.  just £9.95  incl. VAT and uk p&p

This Sea Shore Antics CD provides, for education or intrigue, an insight into some of our sea shore UK marine wildlife.   Moving and still images are given in a range of video clips, sequences, time-lapse formats, and photographs, along with written or narrated features providing information. 

http://www.bugsonfilm.com/shop_main.html


FILMS

18 June 2004
A new film called Deep Blue from the makers of the Blue Planet opens in good cinemas.
Trailer (Link).

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BOOKS

Marine fish & invertebrates
of Northern Europe
Frank Emil Moen & Erling Svensen

In May 2004 the English edition of the very popular Norwegian Marine Fauna (Dyreliv I havet) was published. Prof. David Bellamy has written the foreword. 

More than one thousand underwater photographs  and 608 pages with updated information on marine fish and invertebrates from nearly all marine phylum in Northern European waters. The largest newspaper in Norway, Aftenposten gave the Norwegian edition 6 out of 6 points in a book review. It is in use at all major higher marine biology studies in Norway. 

The English edition is translated by Prof Fredrik Pleijel and Dr. Sabine Cochrane
 

"Marine fish & invertebrates of Northern Europe” is written for anyone with a general interest in marine animal life, and who would like to learn more about their way of life and behaviour, about the role they play in the drama of nature, and the benefit and nuisance they are to man. The main portion of the book is arranged in such a way that the different animal species are presented in a natural, systematic order. More than one thousand magnificent colour photos of animals taken in their natural environment support the informative text highlighting the characteristics of each animal. “Marine fish & invertebrates” covers the North European marine fauna and is a readable experience in itself. In addition, the book is an important aid and source of inspiration to all who delight in the ocean with its hidden life whether if be hobby, study or profession.

The book is available from Aquapress in the UK, Skandisk, Inc. USA and KOM in Norway .

.
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WEB SITES
 

NAUSICAÄ - French National Sea Experience Center
http://www.nausicaa.fr/links/

NAUSICAÄ - French National Sea Experience Center, in Boulogne-sur-Mer (Northern France), is a Science Center entirely dedicated to the relationship between Mankind and the Sea. Its goal is to incite the general public to discover the sea and to love it, while raising its awareness on the need for a better management of marine resources. 

Within the scope of this mission, NAUSICAÄ gives access, on its recently redesigned web site, to a database containing links to the most interesting web sites concerning the sea-related topics and marine activities.

 
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MOLLUSC  WORLD

Published by the Conchological Society
 

BMLSS: Marine Life Articles in Publications (Link)

SOCIETY INFORMATION
 
The British Marine Life Study Society are responsible for producing the journal GLAUCUS, which is the first publication exploring the marine life of the seas surrounding the British Isles available to the general public. 


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Change of EMail Address
 

New EMail addressPlease note that the EMail address for messages to the British Marine Life Study Society has now changed


from bmlss@compuserve.com to  Glaucus@hotmail.com

Messages to the first address will not receive any guarantee of a reply and from year 2003, the old EMail address is expected to fall into disuse. 

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Membership 2004
Plans have not yet been finalised for the publications and subscriptions for year 2004. An explanation was sent to members just after Christmas. 
 

BMLSS
How to Join
 

Bulletin Details

If you receive this Bulletin direct from the British Marine Life Study Society it will contain only hypertext and image (*.htm *.gif & *.jpg) files.
Recipients can only unsubscribe if the Bulletin is received directly from the BMLSS.
Permission is granted to forward the Bulletin on unaltered. However, you will have to include the images separately. 
Subscribe/Unsubcribe http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BMLSS-Torpedo
To save download times, only new images are included with each Bulletin.
The Bulletin is designed to be viewed on Internet Explorer  using medium fonts
at a resolution of 800 x 600. 
Viewing should be possible on Netscape and other browsers.

Printing the two column version of Torpedo (from issue 28)

These pages are not designed for the default settings on the Page Set-ups of your browser. I recommend viewing in Microscope Internet Explorer 6 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 other web page editors, 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.

Some of the images may not display if you have changed your directory for downloaded files. The images may also not display properly if your settings on your EMail software do not allow you do this automatically. When received in Pegasus the format is changed slightly, but the bulletin is still readable 


Torpedo compiled by Andy Horton
Background design by Nicolas Jouault , Andy Horton and other contributors

    9 December 2004

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Compiled on Netscape Composer 4.7 and other programs
Boar Fish, Capros aper