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
 

2 April 2010

A Yarrell's Blenny, Chirolophis ascanii, was discovered in a rockpool near Banff in north Scotland.  "It has a fern like horn above its head which looks bright yellow in daylight."  This is an unusual find on the shore and this is only the second report received. Both were from north Scotland. 

1 March 2010 The passage migrants Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis, were spotted feeding on the strandline at Studland Bay beach in Dorset. These small birds are classified as a scarce visitor to the south coast of England.    Report and Photograph by Steve Trewhella (Facebook)

1 March 2010

A rarely discovered Snapping Prawn, Alpheus macrocheles, was photographed at Kimmeridge Bay, Purbeck VMNR, Dorset. This crustacean appears a regular resident in the bay as thirty pairs were discovered a few weeks previously. 

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FORUM NEWS

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/

However, in November 2009, all these messages were deleted without warning. Sorry. This was out of my control. 

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

Wet Thumb (Marine Aquariology) Forum Link
 
 

Pregnant Male Spiny Seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus Photograph by Steve Trewhella (Facebook) The eelgrass beds in Studland Bay are home to the UK's largest breeding population of Spiny Seahorses. Up to 300 boats a day are being allowed to anchor in the Eelgrass, ripping the roots up and destroying the habitat. Unregulated moorings are being allowed in the bay while authorities look on. Studland Bay needs to become a Marine Conservation Zone in 2012 under the Marine and Coastal Access Bill.

We found our beautiful pair of Spiny Seahorses, Hippocampus guttulatus, in June 2009. This species is the less prevalent of the two species which are both a rare discovery in the seas around Britain. Still hanging on despite the mayhem going on above them, they are living in a very small territory, lets hope the anchors don't destroy the Eelgrass, Zostera, beds, before they have chance to give birth. Comments and Photographs by Steve Trewhella (Facebook) Zoster marina (Marlin Information Page)  26 February 2008 The Angel Shark, Squatina squatina, Short-snouted Seahorses, Hippocampus hippocampus, and Spiny Seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus (=H. ramulosus), will gain protection against being killed, injured, or taken from the wild from 6 April 2008 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. In addition, the possession or selling of the the Short-snouted and Spiny Seahorses’ will become an offence. It will also become an offence to damage or obstruct the Short-snouted and Spiny Seahorses’ place of shelter or disturb them in their place of shelter. DEFRA Press Release

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)

June 2009
 

Not just a cookery book: you have to go down to the shore and catch or collect the food yourself. The 240 page hardback book (with an index) is exceptionally well produced in quality of the binding, paper as well as the quality of writing, information and clear useful colour photographs. It is well organised into nine chapters:

Starting Out:  Conservation and Equipment, including the first paper published instructions on how to construct a shrimp net (push-net). 

Foraging:  Lots of useful and essential information about the tides, weather, safety and what to wear. 

Rule Book: This is the bravest inclusion. John Wright attempts (better than anyone so far) to explain the rules, law and ethics of seashore collection, what you are allowed and not allowed to do. It is worth buying the book for this chapter alone.

The Flowering Plants
The Seaweeds
The Molluscs
The Crustaceans

All the expected species and some unlikely edible candidates are included and each is given two pages. Very informative and lots of information I did not already know. John Wright conducted his research first hand and we shrimped together on Southwick Beach with Peter Talbot-Elsden (as shown in my photograph, not in the book).

The Recipes:  Well I would omit the chilli in the Potted Shrimp. After collecting the food, I am usually a wee bit tired and this chapter should be for your partner. Let me know how you get on?

The home-made shrimp net on page 17 is an identical design to mine, the one used by John Wright before he made his own on our expeditions at Southwick, and the one used by Charlie Dimmick on River Walks filmed on nearby Lancing beach.

Conclusion: Highly recommended, essential purchase ***** (highest five star rating).

’The Seasons’ is a four-part series (no surprise there then!) that looks at the way every living thing in Britain is profoundly affected by the seasons. Its very much macrocosm to microcosm, starting with the astronomical reasons for our seasons and then looking at the myriad and fascinating effects they have. It investigates such basic factors as lengthening nights and changes in temperature have in our islands.

The very last piece of filming was the Blenny, Lipophrys pholis, with the help of myself (Andy Horton). This small fish would not behave as the books said, because the books were wrong!

Kimmeridge Tidings

Autumn 2009
http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/c2/uploads/tidingsautumn09web.pdf

Up to date with all the latest happenings at our Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve in Kimmeridge.
 

VIVARIUM
by Peter Stiles
Publisher: Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

Philip Henry Gosse was a popular naturalist who moved to Victorian Ilfracombe and wrote his natural science book ‘A Naturalist’s Rambles on the Devonshire Coast’. He later designed the first public aquarium, which opened in London. His activities also attracted other naturalists, including Charles Darwin and novelist George Eliot.

This book celebrates the link between Philip Henry Gosse and his rockpool adventures in Devon and contains lots of information about the life of this self-taught Victorian scientist and writer.

in conjunction with an Exhibition that finished on 25 April 2009.
 

Marine Fisheries Science Yearbook  2008/2009

Publisher:  defra

href="http://archive.defra.gov.uk/search/results.htm?cx=014361324438485032053%3Aljunwq2pe_y&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=Marine+Fisheries+Science+">To obtain a copy from the defra web site, click on this text
 
 
 

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 the European Atlantic
The Bay of Biscay, English Channel, Celtic Sea and coastal SW Ireland
by Dylan Walker and Graeme Cresswell
with the illustrations by Robert Still
WILDGuides  2008
£ 12.00 (includes standard UK P&P)
ISBN:  978-1-903657-31-7

This is the second fully revised and updated edition of this comprehensive guide to the identification of whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) in the European Atlantic. Until very recently, most researchers and whale-watchers were unaware of the great variety of cetaceans that can be seen so close to the shores of western Europe. Indeed, it is only during the last decade, when detailed cetacean surveys have been carried out in earnest, that we have discovered how important this area is for cetacean biodiversity.

This field guide describes all of the 31 species of whale, dolphin and porpoise that have occurred in the European Atlantic. 
 

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