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 November 2008 A Ray's Bream, Brama brama, was discovered on the beach between Marske and Saltburn, North Yorkshire, following heavy seas. The colourful wellies are in the photograph for scale, adult size 6 - not a childs!  Report & Photograph  by Paul Anderson

16 November 2008

I was fishing a match on Hopton Beach near Lowestoft, Norfolk, on Sunday and whilst fishing I had a Ray's Bream, Brama brama, chasing something in the breakers it flew off the top of the wave and stranded itself on the beach it went absolutely mad, so I grabbed it by the tail fin but it was too powerful to hold so as it dropped the fish in a small amount of water I kicked it clear of the water. It was the most colourful fish I had ever seen with metallic blues and reds round the top and the body was a bar of silver. When it died all the colours went and it went grey were all the colour. I had already filleted it as I new it was a pelagic fish and thought it would eat well. It was excellent I now want some more. It weighed 3 lb 4 oz.

15 November 2008 This Ray's Bream, Brama brama, was washed up on North Blyth beach in Northumberland.  Report by Derek Burton (in the photograph)

9 November 2008
The remains of three Ray's Bream, Brama brama, were discovered washed up on the beach at Withernsea, East Yorkshire. Two were intact but the third had been scavenged. The species was identified to me by a fisherman on the beach and confirmed by photographs on this site.

BMLSS Ray's Bream

5 November 2008
A White-beaked Dolphin, Lagenorhyncus albirostris, stranded at Tynemouth, north-east England, was euthanased because of its poor body condition and being unable to maintain its balance.

1 November 2008
Robert Mellors discovered a Ray's Bream, Brama brama, was found after a storm in the North Sea in amongst a large mound of seaweed washed up on the East Beach at Dunbar, East Lothian, south east Scotland.  It measured approximately 44 cm by 28 cm and it weighed approximately 1.5 - 2 kg.

30 October 2008
I found a Ray's Bream, Brama brama, on Cleethorpes beach between Wonderland and Grimsby Docks. As you can see the Gulls have had a good go at it.

29 October 2008
A small 12.6 kg tuna, discovered in Plymouth Fish market in the morning, was caught in gill net off Mevagissey, south Cornwall. It was identified as a small Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus. 

It was originally though to be the rarer Big-eyed Tuna, Thunnus obesus. 

25 October 2008
A one metre long Albacore, Thunnus alalunga, was found washed ashore at the head of Loch Long in the Firth of Clyde, south-west Scotland. This pelagic, oceanic and migratory fish In the Scombridae family of Tunnies and Mackerel is usually found in large shoals in the mid-Atlantic in temperate and tropical waters in a more southerly latitude of British Isles and in the Mediterranean Sea. This is the first record on the BMLSS News Pages. The identity of this fish has not been confirmed. It may be another Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus. 
Image (by Davy Holt)

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FORUM NEWS

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Mailing Groups

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean 
Yahoo Group
New Group: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Glaucus

With the closure of Smart Groups at the end of November 2006 most of the 7500+ messages have been filed at:

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Jiglu
http://www.Jiglu.com/spaces/glaucus/

Images can be uploaded to flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/glaucus/
 

Wet Thumb (Marine Aquariology) Forum Link
 
 

Venerids from around the British Isles (by Jan Light).

Top: Venerupis senegalensis (=pullastra)
Middle: Tapes rhomboides
Bottom: Tapes aureus

Note: pink flush in interior umbone of rhomboides - diagnostic
Note: golden flush in aureus (but sometimes present in senegalensis)
Note: dark brownish purple on interior of senegalensis but not present in pale coloured individuals.
Note similarities in outline to the untrained eye.  Also once you get to know the species you recognise colour combinations and patterns not seen in the other two.

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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 250K in size.

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)

NEW BOOKS:
 
 

Sharks in British Seas Richard Peirce 138 pages, colour illustrations, line drawings, colour & b/w photos. Lots of newspaper reports. Publisher:  Shark Cornwall Softcover | 2008 | £9.99 ISBN: 978-0-955869402

Seashore by Lucy Beckett-Bowman Consultant: Andy Horton Usborne Publishing   £3.99 Usborne Beginners Series Level One (very young children) ISBN 978-0-7460-8864-7 BMLSS Notes for a Primary School Teacher

Whales & Dolphins 
of Great Britain
by Dylan Walker and Alex Wilson
CETACEA Publishing 2007
£11.95 
ISBN-10: 0-9556144-0-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-9556144-0-8
 

If you would like to see whales and dolphins in British waters, Whales and Dolphins of Great Britain is the book for you! A comprehensive and easy-to-use field guide to all of the regularly seen species, it also shows you how, where, and when to go and see these spectacular marine mammals, with 38 boat operators and 16 outstanding land-based viewpoints listed. The text is packed with information on how to book a trip; including the species that are likely to be seen, how to get there, and what photographic opportunities are available. If you love whales and dolphins and enjoy seeing the British countryside, this book is a must – you never know when you might need it! 

Whales and Dolphins of Great Britain is the first in a series of regional whale and dolphin watching guides being published by Cetacea Publishing. 

CETACEA Publishing, Nook Farmhouse, Ashby Road, Shepshed, Loughborough, LE12 9BS. Telephone: 0845 388 3053. Fax: 0845 108 6386. 
E-Mail: info@cetaceapublishing.com. Website designed by de Wilson-Wildman LLP 

BMLSS Cetacean Book Reviews
 

The Gulf Stream
by Bruno Voituriez 
Publisher:  UNESCO 
ISBN:  92-3-103995-4 
222 pages, figures, glossary, bibliography

The Gulf Stream
Amid contemporary scenarios of potential climatic catastrophes and global warming that might be imagined to bring a new ice age, the powerful image of the Gulf Stream rising from the Florida Straits and flowing to the north Atlantic inevitably provokes questions about its ecological significance and whether it might ever stop.
 

Coastal Plankton
Photo Guide for European Seas

by Otto Larink & Wilfried Westheide
reviewed by Wim van Egmond
 
 

Seashore  (Collins New Naturalist) (Paperback) by Peter Hayward Collins 2004 ISBN:  0-00-220031-7 Amazon Web Site

Paperback. Pp 288. Colour & b/w photographs, illustrations, charts, maps and bibliography. Fine copy. "New Naturalist" Seashore is a comprehensive, authoritative account of the natural history of the seashore.
 

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