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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22 May 2006
Thousands of dead Common Starfish, Asterias rubens, were seen on the beach at Lydd-on-Sea, Kent. All the starfish were strewn along the high tide line, and for every step I took I passed 20 to 30 dead starfish. I walked about half a mile along the beach and the line of dead starfish seemed never ending in both directions. Some of the starfish were laying on the sand and in the sand pools but these too were dead. Also, about 30 Sea Mice, (an annelid worm), Aphrodite aculeata, were found washed up dead.
NB: This discovery followed two days of gales. 

28 April 2006
An extremely interesting report of three Sea Horses, Hippocampus hippocampus reported by Southwick (West Sussex) fishermen; the fishermen say they are the first caught for several years and other fishermen are reporting them in their fixed nets several miles offshore. The identity of these fish has not been verified personally, but Sea Horses are known to be rarely captured from the Sussex coast.

Short-snouted Seahorse, Hippocampus hippocampus, washed up on the beach at Felpham (near Bognor Regis) West Sussex in late March 2006. Photograph by Dee Christensen (Nature Coast Project)

BMLSS Seahorses
 

27 April 2006 The small crustacean on the right was discovered on the shore at Eastbourne, Sussex.  Report by Dr Gerald Legg (Booth Museum)

This is Alpheus, the Snapping Prawn and not Axius. Note the absence of the triangular plate that extends to a minor rostrum between the eyes. It is Alpheus macrocheles, a scarce species found on the south coast of the British Isles (in British seas). ID help from the CRUST-L Forum
 

13 April 2006
My diving work boat Scavenger was engaged in mooring recommissions in the bay (natural harbour) named Cove on the South side of St Agnes, in the Isles of Scilly, when Jolene Allsop, a professional diver working with me, disturbed a Puffer Fish at rest in a heavily kelped underwater marker buoy at about three metre depth and with very good visibility (in excess of 15 metres). Jo has seen Puffer Fish before in tropical waters and was able to observe this 15 cm fish long enough to have no doubt as to it's identity. 

The vagrant Oceanic Puffer Fish species rarely seen in British seas is Lagocephalus lagocephalus. 

A 3.5 metres long Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaengliae, was washed ashore dead on Kingsdown Beach near Deal, north-east Kent. It rolled in and out with the high tide before becoming permanently lodged on the beach. The whale had a large gash mark on its side. Humpback Whales are a deep water species more usually discovered in the Atlantic to the west of the British Isles.

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.

The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom launched a new full colour magazine, GLOBAL MARINE ENVIRONMENT in 2005, which will appeal to people who wish to read accurate, interesting and entertaining articles about the world's oceans and its inhabitants.
Much of the source material for this new magazine is the Journal of the Marine Biological Association (JMBA). Whereas the journal is full of excellent scientific papers, GLOBAL MARINE ENVIRONMENT takes some of the most interesting studies and, in full colour, writes a more understandable summary of the findings.

The first issue of Global Marine Environment may be purchased in hard copy for £1.75 (see below) or downloaded from the web at the following
address:

http://www.mba.ac.uk/PDF/mbaglobal%20news.pdf 

Coastal Plankton 
Photo Guide for European Seas

by Otto Larink & Wilfried Westheide

reviewed by Wim van Egmond
 
 
 

ISBN  0-9522831-5-8 Available from: