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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30 January 2006
The Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, that visited Maryport Harbour, north-west England, was finally released into the open sea. A team led by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) successfully captured the animal, assisted with a veterinary examination and then released the animal offshore, where it was joined by two other dolphins of the same species, before strongly swimming off to safety.

29 January 2006
A Triggerfish, Balistes capriscus, had washed up dead on the beach west of Grand Avenue Worthing West Sussex, and the fish was beginning to smell a bit. 

NB: Triggerfish are a southern warm water fish that reach their most northerly point of distribution in the English Channel and some of the fish may die of cold during the winter months.
Marine Life Reports (Sussex)
BMLSS Triggerfish

28 January 2006
Thousands of dead specimens of the Common Starfish, Asteria rubens, were washed up on the beach about a mile and a half to the north of Tywyn (north of Aberystwyth) on the Cardigan Bay coast of north-west Wales.  There seem to be various interpretations of these mass strandings, including winter storms and changes in water temperature.

21 January 2006
A Boar Fish, Capros aper, is washed up alive on at Branksome Chine, Dorset (near Bournemouth). It was thrown back in the sea but it may get washed up again.

This attractive deep water fish is very occasionally washed up alive or found in rock pools and very occasionally caught by anglers. 

A three metres long White-beaked Dolphin, Lagenorhyncus albirostris, was washed up dead on the north Scotland mainland coast, Caithness. It appeared as though it was a fishing capture and it had been gutted to make it sink. Pods of forty or so of these dolphins have been seen before off the Scottish coast.
The Gruesome Gallery

Whales & Dolphins in British Seas (by Steve Savage)
BMLSS Cetacea

A six metres long Basking Shark, Cetorhinus maximus, was spotted by the Amethyst fishing vessel heading in the direction of the Lizard off the south-west of Cornwall. This appears to be the a very early winter sighting and the first of the year.

20-21 January 2006
A four tonne 5.8 metres long immature female Northern Bottle-nosed Whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, swam up to central London and was seen as far upstream as Lambeth Bridge, Westminster, (within sight of the Houses of Parliament). Three adult whales were spotted east of the Thames Barrier the day before and at 8:30 am a man on a train spotted a whale in the Thames out of the train window. Rescue attempts by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and the authorities are being directed to persuading the whale to reverse direction and swim back out to sea and to avoid any further collisions with boats. This is the first time a whale had been seen so far upstream since records began in 1913. 

On the second day, the whale looked in a poor condition and showed no sign of returning to the open sea. A decision was taken (by the BDLMR and authorities) to make an improvised pontoon, crane the whale on to it and tow the unfortunate sea mammal back out to the Thames estuary. The prognosis was poor. The whale died at 7:00 pm.
 

Tidal notes at London Bridge: High: 6 metres, Low: 1.3 metres (low about midday)

BDMLR Forum
BDMLR News Releases on Forum
BMLSS Cetacean Reports 2006

16-17 January 2006
Twenty four egg cases of the endangered Skate, Dipturus (=Raja) batis, were  discovered on the Sandside shore near the Dounreay nuclear power plant, Caithness, west of Thurso and Scrabster Harbour and John o'Groats on the northernmost coast of mainland Scotland, the first records reported to the Shark Trust and the first records on the mainland Scotland since these egg case occurrences have been recorded. 
 

The egg cases measured between 23 to 28 cm long and 13 to 16 cm wide in a dried state and the first seventeen were discovered in a 15 minute along the beach.
When the egg cases are placed in water they expand in size.

Shark Trust Eggcase Hunt
Caithness Eggcase Walk

Report by Paula Gent with photographs by Davey Benson

Egg Capsules of Rays & Sharks (Link to the Web Pages)
BMLSS Mermaid's Purses
January 2005 Report

16 January 2006
A bright orange Red Band Fish, Cepola rubescens, was discovered alive but in a moribund state in a rockpool on the shore of Pevensey Bay in East Sussex. This fish is rarely recorded as it lives in burrows in the sea bed offshore. This is one fish that has been discovered more often since we have been recording its occurrence and it seems quite widespread around the coasts of the British Isles. 

Report by John Cook

Liz Sides, from Duchas in Ireland says that one of her tunicate taxonomic friends has found what appears to be a large non-native Didemnum sp growing prolifically in a marina on the Irish east coast. (*The identification has not been confirmed yet.)

Report by Rohan Holt

The Snake Pipefish, Entelerus aequoreus, photographed at a depth of 25 metres in Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles near the wreck of the SMS Koln. There were three of these fish seen. 

NB: These pipefish have been caught by Puffins instead of their normal food of Sand-eels. The fish might be commoner this year, but more likely the Sand-eel populations have collapsed causing starvation amongst the Puffin chicks. 
Report

BMLSS Pipefish

6 - 30 January 2006
A friendly Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, visited Maryport Harbour, Cumbria, on the Solway estuary in north-west England. Fishermen say the dolphin, nicknamed Marra, has been following them off Workington since summer and has always been on its own. Experts believe he may have followed fishing boats into the harbour. It has stayed around in the harbour for the month of January, but although it is feeding, there are fears that there is insufficient food of live fish in the harbour to sustain a large mammal. 

1 January 2006
Ormers, Haliotis tuberculata, with a minimum shell length of 80 mm can be legally collected from the shores of Guernsey.

I discovered an Ormer of shell length 11.75 cm on 18 October 2005 on the
shore at La Valette on Guernsey's east coast - south of St. Peter Port. I wanted to find out if this Ormer was still under the same rock. I was not disappointed. This is the second time I have found an Ormer in the autumn which has remained under the same rock through to the New Year. I did not collect it but hope it survives the Ormer collecting season which continues during large spring tides until the end of April.

Cornish Marine Life Reports 2005

Magic Map now has a Coastal and Marine Resource Atlas

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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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.

Axius stirhynchus This small crustacean was observed at Le Hocq, Jersey on 23 July 2005.  Report & Photograph by Richard Lord (Guernsey) The "prawn" lives in burrows offshore. The numbers of this crustacean which seems to be uncommon in British seas, are unknown. Infraorder: Thalassinidea (Decapoda, Pleocyemata)

Two other species in the same genus have been recorded from the north-western Atlantic.

Axius serratus  Stimpson, 1852, 
Axius armatus  Smith, 1881

Ref.

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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. 
 
 
 

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