Electronic News Service       April  2000               ISSN  1464-8156

Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings. For there is none worthy of the name but God, whom heaven, earth and sea obey". 

Cnut (Knud, Knut)-  ?995-1035, King of England 1016-1035, of
Denmark 1018-1035, of Norway 1028-1035.

World Oceans Day

World Oceans Day was first declared as 8th June at the Biodiversity Conference “Earth Summit” of World Leaders in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Events will occur all around the world on and around this day. World Oceans Day offers the opportunity for people to join in with others to increase the understanding of the wildlife of the oceans and the marine environment. 

 

The British Marine Life Study Society will be participating in the Adur Exhibition to be held at Shoreham-by-Sea on 3 June 2000. Members in other parts of the British Isles are encouraged to organise their own exhibitions. 
 

World Oceans Day 2000
(Link that includes other events in Cornwall and Yorkshire)

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.

Shetland Sea Mammal Report 1998

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
 

21 March 2000
28 dolphins have been found dead on Cornish beaches in the last three weeks, as well as 14 in South Devon. Five were discovered in St Ives Bay alone in the last two days. All confirmed identifications are of Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis.
From the Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages
1997 Report

13 March 2000
A Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, swam up the River Thames as far as the House of Commons and provided an unusual sight for Londoners and tourists. Two days later a Harbour Porpoise was found washed up dead near Battersea, and this was almost certainly the same animal.

Second Report by Paul Gosling
Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society

6 March 2000
At least 7 Common Dolphins, Delphinus delphis, were found washed up dead on the shores of Guernsey,  at Houmet, Grand Rocques and near Rocquaine Bay and outside the entrance to St. Peter Port Harbour. Other Common Dolphins, perhaps hundreds, were washed up dead on the Brittany coast, France.

Report by Richard Lord (Guernsey)

4 March 2000
Ten Risso's Dolphins, Grampus griseus, were seen from Carn Gloose, near St.Just-in-Penwith, Cornwall. These dolphins are rarely recorded, but more commonly seen in the last few years, off the Cornish coast. 

Report by Vince Smith

Vince Smith's One-List/Cornish Wildlife
Seaquest SW (Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages)

February 2000
About one hundred Starfish, Asterias rubens, and dozens of Heart Urchins, Echinocardium cordatum, were found washed up on the strandline at Southport, Lancashire. 

Report by Nicola Moore (Warrington)

Mass Mortality of the Heart Urchin

31 January 2000
A decomposing Sperm Whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is washed ashore at Vaila on the Shetland Islands. There are close-up photographs of the huge whale by John Leach on the Shetland Wildlife Pages.
Shetland Sea Mammal Report 1998

 BMLSS Report Forms

BIOMAR

Picton, B.E. and Costello M. J. (editors). 1998. BioMar biotope viewer: a guide to marine habitats, fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland. Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin. ISBN 0 9526 735 4 1

Copies are available on request from:
EcoServe, 17 Rathfarnham Road, Terenure, Dublin 6W, Ireland.
Fax + 353-1-492 5694. Email mcostello@ecoserve.ie.
They cost £10 + £2 P & P (standard economy rate).

It includes

•  a database of marine species recorded during field surveys around Ireland;
•  descriptions and photographs of marine biotopes defined by the BioMar project;
• photographs and descriptions of some of the species recorded;
• a bibliography of marine environment literature for Ireland.

The baseline information is of importance to environmental managers, consultants and researchers.  The biotope and species photographs and descriptions that illustrate this data provide a state-of-the-art educational tool for studying marine species and biotopes. This viewer demonstrates how information on marine life and biotopes may be disseminated as computer software.

Information in this publication may be searched based on geographical location, habitat and/or species, if you use the special installation routine (details on enclosed). The data files may also be accessed directly if you have the necessary software.

This viewer was produced as part of BioMar, a project part funded by the European Commission under the LIFE - Environment programme.

URL = http://www.ecoserve.ie/biomar/aims.html

British Anthozoa

To the non-marine enthusiasts, the Anthozoa are a subphylum of the Cnidaria (stinging animals like jellyfish). The Anthozoa contain the attractive sea anemones, corals, sea fans, sea-pens etc.

Up until now there has not been a readily available colour photographic guide to these most attractive animals in British seas. The standard literature was British Anthozoa by R L Manuel  (Academic Press: Synopsis of British Fauna series) ISBN 0.12.470050.0 This is the 1981 edition. A later edition was produced. It contains the accurate line drawings.

The Biomar CD-ROM rectifies this shortfall, and the section on the sea anemones is reason enough for acquiring this CD-ROM.
(I found the sea anemones the prompt that got me interested in marine life around Britain: a compulsion at the time.)

Almost all the sea anemones found around the British Isles are illustrated by superb photographs and a brief explanation about the anemones and other anthozoans. These include raw and uncommon species that I have never seen in the wild or even in photographs before. 

There is a comprehensive database with photographs of the British Opisthobranch Molluscs (sea slugs) included as well.

Essential for any marine enthusiast.

Further Information

 
OLD BOOKS

For those of you that are interested in the Cornish names for wildlife
especially marine life the following book would be of use:

Sea Words   by R Morton Nance
Published by the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies in 1965.

The glossary which forms the greater part of the book deals with a dialect and other words given by Cornish fishermen to fish, birds, equipment and other things encountered in their daily lives; full use if made of all available manuscript sources, but the greater part of the material was gathered by the author from old fishermen many years ago and would otherwise have been lost beyond recall.

from Vince Smith

but also researched by Andy Horton (I have not seen the book yet.)
 

The Report is available from Pete Ellis, Sumburgh Lighthouse, Virkie, Shetland.
Cost £3.50 
EMail
 

BMLSS: Marine Life Articles in Publications (Link)

During 1986 and 1987, a group of scientists from nine nations co-operated in @The North Atlantic Killer Whale Project' to review information available on killer whales of their respective regions. This culminated in a collection of papers on @North Atlantic Killer Whales' which was 
published in a special issue of Rit Fiskideildar, Journal of the Marine Research Institute, Reykjavik, Volume XI, in 1988. Since then, a great deal of research on the movements and distribution of killer whale pods in the North Atlantic has been carried out by dedicated surveys that have managed to photograph a significant number of killer whale pods. This has resulted 
in the formation of @photo-identification' catalogues of killer whales in Norwegian and Icelandic waters.

Full Report at:

Shetland Wildlife 
News & Information on the Wildlife of Shetland http://www.wildlife.shetland.co.uk/

 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. 

British Naturalists' Association

BNA Blake Shield Competition
Prizes awarded by Professor David Bellamy, the Patron of the BNA.

WARD CUP  7-11 age group

BLAKE SHIELD  11- 14 age group

The Cup and the Shield are awarded for the best projects that investigate the living world, and require a team leader, a school teacher or scout group leader, or leader of another youth group. 

HOSKING YOUTH AWARD  16-18
This award is for a personal drawing painting or a photograph accompanied by a 1000-1500 word essay on how the image was obtained.

For information about the competitions in the year 2000 please write, enclosing stamped addressed envelope, to:
BNA Blake Shield 
P.O. Box 5681 
Rushden 
NN10 8ZF
U.K.
Tel:   01933 314672

British Naturalists' Association Web Page

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 and on the Torpedo File on the web site (click on this text).
 

NEW Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions	English and European Wildlife Issues
Coastal Guide   Europe	Living Earth
Cornish Wildlife Vince Smith's One-List/Cornish Wildlife Send a message to the list at: CornishWildlife@onelist.com This is a really good forum for Cornish wildlife and  environmental discussion.	Seaquest SW  (Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages)
Trondheim Marine Systems Research Infrastructure (RI)

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.

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	Ordinary
New Member	£28.00	£22.00
Renewal	£25.00	£18.00

The work of the BMLSS is funded by entirely by member's subscriptions and we do not receive any grants.

Torpedo  compiled by Andy Horton31 March 2000