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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

23 September 2006
We dived in Brighton Marina in the same area (near the entrance) that the adult Short-snouted Seahorse, Hippocampus hippocampus, was discovered in June, and over a period of a few hours we spotted about a dozen juvenile Seahorses ranging in size from 10 to 25 mm. They were not all found together. This looks as if there is a population breeding in the marina. 

Seahorse in Brighton Marina     Photograph by Michelle Legg

All Seahorses are a protected species in British seas and collection for whatever reason is illegal.

BMLSS Seahorses

A Triggerfish, Balistes capriscus, was discovered washed up on Castletown beach, near Thurso, on the extreme northerly tip of mainland Scotland. These southern fish a now regularly seen in the English Channel but are unusual so far north and was not immediately recognised by the local people.

15 September 2006
Fisherman Geoff Blake was stunned when he discovered an unusual 30 cm long fish in his regular morning catch off Ventnor, southern Isle of Wight. The fish was  identified* by the fisherman as the first ever Lesser Amberjack, Seriola fasciata, to be found in British seas. All four of the Amberjacks of the North Atlantic Ocean are vagrants in British seas and there are only 17 confirmed records of the other three species. This fish was caught in 6 metres of water, just 200 metres from the shore. 
(*Identity to be confirmed. These fish are difficult to identify, sometimes requiring a count of the gill rakers. Recent fish caught have been the Almaco Jack, Seriola rivoliana.)

13 September 2006
A vagrant Atlantic Tripletail, Lobotes surinamensis, was caught in a stake net on
the banks of the River Severn near Newport. The fish is now in the National Museum and Galleries of Wales with the Curator of Vertebrates, Peter Howlett.
This tropical fish is likely to be the first one ever caught in British seas. It is a sluggish offshore fish that often floats on its side near the surface in the company of floating objects.

9 September 2006 
Steve Trewhella and Julie Hatcher found about sixteen Compass Jellyfish, Chrysaora hysoscella, washed up on the beach at Sandymouth Bay, near Bude in north Cornwall. 
 

A number of these contained the symbiotic amphipod crustacean Hyperia galba alive inside them. These are remarkable little creatures with large green eyes, and as adults they are only found in jellyfish.

BMLSS Jellyfish-1
BMLSS Jellyfish-2
BMLSS Hyperia

6 September 2006
A 210 kg (gutted weight) Thresher Shark, Alopias, was caught in the North Sea, landed in Sweden and put on sale in Finland.

August 2006

31 August - 1 September 2006
A pair of Northern Bottle-nosed Whales, Hyperoodon ampullatus, were washed up alive on the Lincolnshire coast (North Sea east coast of England) and despite strenuous attempts by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue using pontoons to float the whales, the female died on the scene, and the male towed 1.2 km out ot sea and seen to swim away, was found washed up dead at Seacroft, near Skegness,  on the second day.

25 August 2006
An unusual discovery of a fresh but dead 27 kg (60 lb) Tuna was found on a soft mud bank at Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, south Wales, by local angler Nick Roberts and it was pulled ashore with some difficulty by three teenagers. The exact species is not known at present: the most likely species is the Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus. 

7 August 2006
A vagrant 18 kg (40 lb) Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus albacares (originally identified as a Big-eyed Tuna, Thunnus obesus), was a rare capture by a commercial net fisherman 70 miles off Land's End and 2,000 miles adrift of its usual habitat in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It is only the second capture on record from British seas.

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.

Photographs can now be directly uploaded to:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 coastline between Ilfracombe and Combe Martin is backed by lofty cliffs and etched with many sheltered covers and bays.  From Ilfracombe, the coastline stretches for over 6 km to Combe Martin, a smaller town in a setting of sea, cliff and valley.  There is a striking contrast between the irregularity of rocky shores, sandy stretches and all the intergrading types of shore along this coastline, presenting a rich variety of environments for a varied assembly of flora and fauna.

Metamorphic rock, originally from layers of sandstone, shale, and assorted mineral layers typically present in ocean beds. Some rust, so means at least one iron substance is present in it as well/

29 March 2006

The peanut worm (sipunculid) Sipunculus nudus which was dug up by a bait digger in Belle Greve Bay on Guernsey's east coast, just north of St. Peter Port. The animal was about 132 mm long and weighed 33 grams. Of course, with the extended introvert it would be longer. It was quick to bury itself.

The bait digger revealed on the same stretch of beach the echinoderms
Echinocardium cordatum, and Leptosynapta inhaerens and the bivalves Ensis siliqua and Dosinia lupinus.

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)

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: