Electronic News Service       June  2000        ISSN  1464-8156

 

World Oceans Day

DIARY

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. 

 

Adur World Oceans Day Fayre,
Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex

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. 
 
 
 
 

LIVE DISPLAY OF LOBSTERS, CRABS ETC (HANDS ON, UNDER SUPERVISION), WHALES & DOLPHINS INTERACTIVE INFORMATION DISPLAY FOR THE YOUNGER STUDENT, MARINE AQUARIUM, VIDEO MICROSCOPY, TOUCH TABLE (SEASHELLS ON THE SEASHORE), SHINGLE PLANTS PHOTOGRAPHS & INFORMATION, COMPUTER (INTERNET-STYLE) INFORMATION, UNDERSEA WORLD PHOTOGRAPHS, NATURESCOPE, FISH TASTING, ART & SCULPTURE, REFRESHMENTS, SIDESHOWS, LIVE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT AT THE START OF THE ADUR FESTIVAL (FESTIVAL PROGRAMME TEL: 01273 263000)
MARLIPINS MARITIME MUSEUM & OTHER VISITOR ATTRACTIONS.
 

Click on this text for More Information on the Adur WOD Displays
Click on this text for the Latest Information on the Adur WOD Displays

Poster
 

11am (prompt start)  to 2 pm.
Join the St Agnes - Newquay Countryside Service for a glimpse into the watery world of sucker fish, red-eyed crabs, starfish and limpet drinking dogwhelks!
Meet at Trevaunance Cove slipway, St. Agnes.
Map ref: SW 722 516.
Grid References & Maps on the Web

World Oceans Day Event, Wildlife Cruise

Cast off 6:00 pm (until 9:00 pm) from Smugglers' Cottage, Tolverne, Truro, Cornwall (SW 845 402)

SPECIAL BOAT CHARTER BY THE CORNWALL WILDLIFE TRUST FOR WORLD OCEANS DAY

A flood-tide boat trip enabling us to explore the River Fal and its creeks looking at the wealth of wildlife which inhabits this unspoilt piece of coastline.

Cost £5 per person, price includes Cornish Pasty (choice of fillings - steak, cheese or vegetable), soft drinks etc, optional extras.
You must book and pay in advance.

Leader: Diana Wallis
Book via: Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Five Acres, Allet, Truro, TR4 9DJ
Telephone (Tricia Hoskings): 01872-240777 Extn 200.
Information supplied by Bob Bridges (Mylor)
Grid References & Maps on the Web

World Oceans Day Event,
Seashore Safari on the Helford River

2 pm (prompt start) to 4 pm.
Discover the marine wildlife of the Helford River, below Durgan.  Bring rock-scrambling shoes and clothes and be prepared to paddle!
Meet on the shore at Durgan (park in the NT carpark).
Map ref: SW 774 273.
Grid References & Maps on the Web

Organised by the Helford Voluntary Marine Conservation Area.

 
Cornish Wildlife
Vince Smith's One-List/Cornish Wildlife
Send a message to the list at: CornishWildlife@onelist.com

Seaquest SW (Cornwall Wildlife Trust web pages)
 

World Oceans Day Event, 
Treasure Hunt at Mortehoe

11am (prompt start)  to 3 pm.
Mortehoe Heritage Centre, Mortehoe, (near Woolacombe) North Devon
Map ref:  OS: SS 459453

Where have the pirates hidden the treasure?  Get your map and clues from the Centre to help in your hunt.  Along the way discover some amazing marine facts and discover Mortehoe's treacherous history.
Tickets available from the centre Tel: 01271 870028 (not essential but advised) Charge 50p per child, accompanying adult free.
Organised by Devon Wildlife Trust's Marine Awareness Officer for the North Devon VMCA.

Hannah Streatfield
Marine Awareness Officer
Devon Wildlife Trust

Please wear suitable clothing for outdoor activities.

Directions:  take the A361 from the M5 to Barnstaple and then on to Ilfracombe. Mortehoe is sign-posted from the A361 at Mullacott Cross just before Ilfracombe.  By car it should take no more than half an hour from Barnstaple.

Full address is:  Mortehoe Heritage Centre
    Mortehoe
    Woolacombe
    North Devon
    EX34 7DT
    Tel: 01271 870028

Grid References & Maps on the Web

World Oceans Day Event, 
South Landing, Flamborough, Yorkshire

A day of exhibitions, videos and activities to introduce you to life in the sea and how you can protect it. Touch pools in the Visitor Centre will allow close views of sea creatures all day. A rockpool ramble will set off from outside the centre at 11.00.

South Landing Visitor Centre is at TA 230695 (OS Sheet 101 Scarborough & Bridlington).
Grid References & Maps on the Web

From Bridlington ring road take B1255 for Flamborough. At the village pass the church on the right. There is then a sharp left hand bend. Turn right on this bend, then right again in about 20m at small crossroads. Continue for about 1 km to car park at end which is adjacent to the centre.

We will probably include two locally produced videos, one about the exploration of a wreck off theYorkshire coast and one about the Marine Conservation Society's local group study of Filey Brigg marine life.

For World Oceans Day (and week!) we will be running the following marine wildlife tours in SHETLAND:

Monday 5th June
Cruises to Noss NNR at 10am and 2pm
http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/nossbres.htm

Tuesday 6th June
Cruises to Noss at 10am and 2pm http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/nossbres.htm

Wednesday 7th June
Cruise to Hermaness, Muckle Flugga & the Out Stack
http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/hermflug.htm
Mousa Sound Porpoise Watch http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/porpoise.htm
Evening trip to see Storm Petrels at Mousa
http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/summer.htm

Thursday 8th June
Cruises to Noss at 10am and 2pm http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/nossbres.htm

Friday 9th June
Cruises to Noss at 10am and 2pm http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/nossbres.htm

Saturday 10th June
Cruises to Noss at 10am and 2pm http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/nossbres.htm
Evening trip to see Storm Petrels at Mousa
http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/summer.htm

Sunday 11th June
Mousa Sound Porpoise Watch http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/porpoise.htm

Regards

Hugh Harrop
Shetland Wildlife Tours, Longhill, Maywick, Shetland ZE2 9JF, UK.
Tel. 01950 422483   Fax  01950 422430
EMail: hugh@shetlandwildlife.co.uk
http://www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk
 

9-11 June

World Oceans Day Event, 
Big Blue Whale Roadshow

Manx Wildlife Trust
 

http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs2/events/bigblue.html

World Oceans Day 2000
(Link that includes further information about events in Cornwall, Devon, Isle of Man, Shetland Isles, and Yorkshire)

SOUTHAMPTON

The Festival of the Oceans is part of the Gateway to the Oceans event year consisting of the following: 

  a.. Ocean Watch - This will consist of educational workshops, an inter-active play zone, exhibitions and demonstrations with the aim of raising the awareness of the general public about environmental issues related to protecting our Oceans and the implications of not investing in their future.

  a.. World Carnival - The World Carnival will celebrate the City's multicultural community and key maritime events through history. Examples of such events include the Empire Windrush docking in Southampton, with the first immigrants from the Caribbean to the UK, the Pilgrim Fathers setting sail on The Mayflower, and those myths and legends surrounding the ocean.
I would mainly like to bring to your attention the Ocean Watch element of the event.  As part of this we will be holding lectures on the evenings of Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and the afternoon of Sunday 30th July. 
 

If you have any questions or require further details, please contact me on Tel: 023 8083 2906 or send an EMail.

Kind regards,
Lisa Smith
Event Management Services
4th Floor, Frobisher House
Nelson Gate, Southampton

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
 

22 May 2000
Over the last two weeks Cuttlefish have been found (sometimes by the thousand) on the strand line on both the north and south coasts of Cornwall. Large numbers have also been seen floating on the surface out at sea. 
 

Cuttlefish Sepia officinalis

Two species are involved, mainly the Common Cuttle, Sepia officinalis, and Sepia orbignyana which is smaller and has a pink tinge. A range of sizes of the Common Cuttle have been seen and they are complete, with for example, no teeth marks to indicate that they have been eaten.

Report by Vince Smith

There seems to be a lot of both cuttlefishes and squids around this year. The Cuttlefish probably died naturally after spawning. AH

21 May 2000
Three Basking Sharks breached the surface 200-300 metres offshore at Portwrinkle, 10 miles East of Looe, Cornwall.

Report by Jon Makeham

19 May 2000
A pod of 5 Killer Whales were seen off Sumburgh Point, the most southerly headland of the Shetland Isles in the early afternoon. This is a good viewing area for whales and dolphins.
June 1999 Cetaceans off Sumburgh Point

Hugh Harrop on the Shetland Wildlife Pages

18 May 2000
I found 41 stranded Portuguese-Man-O-War, Physalis physalis, on Hannafore Point, later three on East Looe Beach and eight in Polperro Harbour, Cornwall.
The strandings followed several days of strong south-westerly winds.

Report by Jon Makeham

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

The Variety of Life: A Survey and a Celebration of all the Creatures that have ever lived, by Colin Tudge

ISBN  0-19-850311-3   £35.00  (Oxford University Press, March 2000)
 
 
 
 

The Spring 2000 MARLIN newsletter was received on 12 April 2000. Almost all the articles can be viewed on their web site:

MARLIN
Marine Life Information Network

 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.
 

     Featured Web Page:

MARLIN
Marine Life Information Network

Some interesting species information is now starting to be included on their site.

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.

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)

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 Horton 30 May 2000