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
 

21 September 2009
Just a mile from the centre of Glasgow, a four metre long baby Northern Bottle-nosed Whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, swam up the River Clyde and was seen from Arc Bridge. 
"The poor creature is currently showing very unusual behaviour, which could be to do with its current location. It has become stranded a few times but each time has managed to get itself back into slightly deeper water," said Trevor Weeks of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR). "If the whale has not been weaned, unfortunately, there is not much chance of it staying alive. Even if we can return it to the sea, there is very little chance of reuniting it with its parents, on which it depends for food."

16-17 September 2009
A close inshore sighting of a 9 metre long Northern Bottle-nosed Whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, in Poole Bay, Dorset, and seen from Bournemouth Pier, was a notable observation giving cause for concern that this deep water whale was injured or sick.

10-12 September 2009
A 9.5 metre long Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaengliae, was discovered washed up dead at Erith, Greater London, in the River Thames. On 10 September 2009 a large whale was spotted at Tilbury at least ten miles to the east (where the river narrows to 732 metres wide) and this is believed to be the same one. The young male Humpback Whale is believed to have starved to death. The main food items of Humpback Whales seems to be small shoaling fishes and large zooplankton, including krill-like Amphipods.
This is the first record of a Humpback Whale recorded in the Thames, although a large whale of this species was washed up dead on the north Kent coast at Deal in 2006. The Humpback Whale is a deep water species but these whales occasionally wander into the southern North Sea where they can become disorientated and starve to death. In 2006 another young whale became lost and died in the Humber. In 2006 it was a Northern Bottle-nosed Whale that was washed up dead up at Lambeth in London. 
BBC News Report
BDMLR Report
Whales and Dolphins in British Seas (by Steve Savage)
BMLSS Cetacea News Index
UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP)
Identification Key for Stranded Cetaceans
Whale Watching (Britain)

c 26 August 2009
A Broad-billed Swordfish, Xiphias gladius, was discovered in the Kattegat, the shallow sea to the east of Denmark. It was alive but died shortly afterwards in only 50 cm of water at Oreby Port, three kilometres from the mouth of the fjord.
"'Swordfish are seen occasionally in the North Sea in late summer, but it is unusual that it made so far into the inner Danish waters as Sakskøbing Fjord. As far as I can see, it is not described before in literature," said biologist Karsten Bjerrum Nielsen (Kattegat Center), who believes that the catch was sensational. The fish will be put on display at the Kattegat Center from 13 October 2009. 
Full Report
BMLSS Swordfish

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FORUM NEWS

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Mailing Groups

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean 
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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:

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A Ratfish, Chimaera monstrosa, was washed up on the shore at Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire on the North Sea coast of England. This deep sea fish is a frequent capture in the Pink Shrimp fishery of the North Sea. 

The fish has probably been dead for some time causing it to lose its patterns. 
NB. This is the first report of a stranding on these Marine Life News pages. 

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:

Two new interesting publications were received this month:
 

VIVARIUM
by Peter Stiles
Publisher: Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

Philip Henry Gosse was a popular naturalist who moved to Victorian Ilfracombe and wrote his natural science book ‘A Naturalist’s Rambles on the Devonshire Coast’. He later designed the first public aquarium, which opened in London. His activities also attracted other naturalists, including Charles Darwin and novelist George Eliot.

This book celebrates the link between Philip Henry Gosse and his rockpool adventures in Devon and contains lots of information about the life of this self-taught Victorian scientist and writer.

in conjunction with an Exhibition that finished on 25 April 2009.
 

Marine Fisheries Science Yearbook  2008/2009

Publisher:  defra

href="http://archive.defra.gov.uk/search/results.htm?cx=014361324438485032053%3Aljunwq2pe_y&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=Marine+Fisheries+Science+">To obtain a copy from the defra web site, click on this text
 
 
 

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 the European Atlantic
The Bay of Biscay, English Channel, Celtic Sea and coastal SW Ireland
by Dylan Walker and Graeme Cresswell
with the illustrations by Robert Still
WILDGuides  2008
£ 12.00 (includes standard UK P&P)
ISBN:  978-1-903657-31-7

This is the second fully revised and updated edition of this comprehensive guide to the identification of whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) in the European Atlantic. Until very recently, most researchers and whale-watchers were unaware of the great variety of cetaceans that can be seen so close to the shores of western Europe. Indeed, it is only during the last decade, when detailed cetacean surveys have been carried out in earnest, that we have discovered how important this area is for cetacean biodiversity.

This field guide describes all of the 31 species of whale, dolphin and porpoise that have occurred in the European Atlantic. 
 

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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