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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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

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. 

3 July 2008

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

29 June 2008
Another huge Edible Crab, Cancer pagurus, was discovered and brought ashore by Paul Worsley diving in Lyme Bay, Dorset. It was estimated to be 300 mm wide across the carapace and a crab of this size would be the largest on record. (The largest recorded specimen known was 285 mm wide.) Its huge size can be verified by the photograph in the Western Morning News but unfortunately the crab was eaten before a tape measure could put on the shell and photographed to verify the crab as the largest on record. 

26 June 2008
A huge Edible Crab, Cancer pagurus, was captured and brought to the surface from a plastic barrel on the sea floor at Balaclava Bay off Portland, Dorset. The male crab was not measured but estimated to be about 30 cm wide across the carapace. It was found a home in Weymouth Sea Life Centre. Both its massive claws were intact and bigger than my hands.

22 June 2008
An injured Risso’s Dolphin, Grampus griseus, was discovered swimming in the River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland, and it is not expected to survive. This is a deep water species. 

Whales & Dolphins in British Seas (Link)
 
 

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Mailing Groups

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean 
Yahoo Group
New Group: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Glaucus

With the closure of Smart Groups at the end of November 2006 most of the 7500+ messages have been filed at:

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Jiglu
http://www.Jiglu.com/spaces/glaucus/

Images can be uploaded to flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/glaucus/
 

Wet Thumb (Marine Aquariology) Forum Link
 
 

1 July 2008

WARNING

I was badly stung all over my back and bottom by a Snakelocks Anemone, Anemonia viridis, whilst in a rock pool at Dancing Ledge in Dorset, part of the Purbeck Coastline in the south west of England.

After a long swim in the sea as well, I got out and immediately felt a rapid burning sensation like my skin was on fire. The area bubbled up in patches, very similar to a dense collection of nettle stings. Interestingly, the stings on my bottom form a neat and rather unattractive line on the edge of my bikini bottoms. There were other people in the water at the same time but they had long shorts on or wet suits, so the stings couldn't penetrate. I did hear from another swimmer that a little girl who was only wearing a bikini like me, had also suffered an attack.

I took the above photograph about ten minutes after getting out of the water. The area remained very hot and very very tender for about two days. During the following week it began to go down then it formed in red welts that look like chronic eczema. It's become itchy and inflamed and I started to use calamine lotion again to soothe it. 

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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 250K in size.

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

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

NEW BOOKS:
 
 

Sharks in British Seas Richard Peirce 138 pages, colour illustrations, line drawings, colour & b/w photos. Lots of newspaper reports. Publisher:  Shark Cornwall Softcover | 2008 | £9.99  ISBN: 978-0-955869402

Seashore by Lucy Beckett-Bowman Consultant: Andy Horton Usborne Publishing   £3.99 Usborne Beginners Series Level One (very young children) ISBN 978-0-7460-8864-7 BMLSS Notes for a Primary School Teacher

Whales & Dolphins 
of Great Britain
by Dylan Walker and Alex Wilson
CETACEA Publishing 2007
£11.95 
ISBN-10: 0-9556144-0-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-9556144-0-8
 

If you would like to see whales and dolphins in British waters, Whales and Dolphins of Great Britain is the book for you! A comprehensive and easy-to-use field guide to all of the regularly seen species, it also shows you how, where, and when to go and see these spectacular marine mammals, with 38 boat operators and 16 outstanding land-based viewpoints listed. The text is packed with information on how to book a trip; including the species that are likely to be seen, how to get there, and what photographic opportunities are available. If you love whales and dolphins and enjoy seeing the British countryside, this book is a must – you never know when you might need it! 

Whales and Dolphins of Great Britain is the first in a series of regional whale and dolphin watching guides being published by Cetacea Publishing. 

CETACEA Publishing, Nook Farmhouse, Ashby Road, Shepshed, Loughborough, LE12 9BS. Telephone: 0845 388 3053. Fax: 0845 108 6386. 
E-Mail: info@cetaceapublishing.com. Website designed by de Wilson-Wildman LLP 

BMLSS Cetacean Book Reviews
 

The Gulf Stream
by Bruno Voituriez 
Publisher:  UNESCO 
ISBN:  92-3-103995-4 
222 pages, figures, glossary, bibliography

The Gulf Stream
Amid contemporary scenarios of potential climatic catastrophes and global warming that might be imagined to bring a new ice age, the powerful image of the Gulf Stream rising from the Florida Straits and flowing to the north Atlantic inevitably provokes questions about its ecological significance and whether it might ever stop.
 

Coastal Plankton
Photo Guide for European Seas

by Otto Larink & Wilfried Westheide
reviewed by Wim van Egmond
 
 

Seashore  (Collins New Naturalist) (Paperback) by Peter Hayward Collins 2004 ISBN:  0-00-220031-7 Amazon Web Site

Paperback. Pp 288. Colour & b/w photographs, illustrations, charts, maps and bibliography. Fine copy. "New Naturalist" Seashore is a comprehensive, authoritative account of the natural history of the seashore.
 

BMLSS General Guides
BMLSS Advanced Guides