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

24 April 2013
A Yellowmouth Drumfish or Shadefish, Argyrosomus regius, was discovered in Looe Fish Market (south Cornwall) and was caught in a trawl south-west of Eddystone Lighthouse. This southern fish is a rare occurrence in British seas with only three records since 1998. The fish was 54 cm long (TL) and weighed 1.35 kg. 

The book name Meagre or Maigre was a transcription mistake in an old book and I have discontinued its vernacular use. This large fish is identified by its yellow mouth. 
The Yellowmouth Drumfish, also called the Shade-fish, may still be common off the African Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. Adult fish can attain a length of 1.9 metres and weights of 48 kg (100 lb). It is also a fine sporting fish and extremely good eating. Because, it is reported to inhabit shallow seas, it may have been over-fished off the European coast centuries ago.

13 April 2013
The first two Basking Sharks, Cetorhinus maximus, of the year (off Cornwall) broke the surface of the sea between the Lizard Point and Falmouth, south Cornwall.
"A good seven to eight metres in length feeding about 60 cm down, mouth wide open. We were able to interact carefully with this huge mysterious creature for about 15 minutes, during which time we were giving some exciting views." 

11 April 2013
A dozen Basking Sharks, Cetorhinus maximus, were spotted off Slea Head, County Kerry, Ireland by Nick Massett. 

9 April 2013
A new fish has been added to the British list with the extraordinary discovery of the deepwater and little known Jellynose Fish (family: Ateleopodidae) Ijimaia loppei caught in the Western Approaches to the English Channel.

Jellynoses are deep-water, bottom-dwelling, marine fish. They are known from the Caribbean Sea, eastern Atlantic, the western and central Indopacific and the Pacific coast of Central America. Their skeletons are largely cartilage (hence "jellynose"), although they are true teleosts and not at all related to Chondrichthyes. 
Jellynoses (Wikipedia)

6 April 2013
A wreck of seabirds and crustaceans and other animals washed up dead on a Yorkshire shore at North Bay Beach, Scarborough included one of the more unusual squids in British seas. It is thought most likely to be the Hard Squid, Todarodes sagittatus. . The total length of the squid was estimated at 60 cm. This is the first report of this squid on these News Reports. 

Over 200 dead Puffins were found between Filey and Scarborough, on the Yorkshire coast, in the wreck as a result of bad weather. 

6 April 2013
The first inshore Basking Shark, Cetorhinus maximus, sighting records of 2013 came from off the Dingle Peninsula off Ireland. In common with recent years, it was land-based effort watchers at Slea Head, County Kerry (Nick Massett) and another sighting off the south coast of Ireland off Ram Head, County Waterford (Andrew Malcolm & Ann Trimble) that confirmed the annual inshore spring movement. 

A 10 metre long deep water Sperm Whale, Physeter catodon, made an unexpected and surprising visit to the shallow waters of Oban Bay in south-west Scotland. It has been unable to negotiate its way out of the horseshoe-shaped bay and has attracted many visitors over a sunny Easter. 
Its long stay in the harbour does not seem promising for its survival.

Sperm Whale tail fluke showing in Oban Harbour
Photograph by Mark Hows on flickr
 
 
 

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

British Marine Life Study Society
facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glaucus/

This Wall is now working properly and members can now post on it. This is designed for quick less important chatty news items. Photographs can be uploaded quickly which is only possible on the Yahoo Group by going to the web page.

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

Wet Thumb (Marine Aquariology) Forum Link
 
 
 

Lots of marine wildlife reports from Shetland on facebook Photographs include undersea, sea mammals and birds.  Click on the image to connect

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)

 

Publisher: marine scotland

Scotland's Marine Atlas

Scotland's Marine Atlas is an assessment of the condition of Scotland's seas, based on scientific evidence from data and analysis and supported by expert judgement.

Click on the image for the free publication. 
 

Published: 27 March 2013 
ISBN (EPUB): 9781782564485 
ISBN (MOBI): 9781782564478 

EBook Reader Software (Adobe Digital Editions)
Change the font size to small for square monitors.

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This is a book about an ocean that vanished six million years ago: the ocean of Tethys, named after a Greek sea nymph.  The oceans are important to climate and environment, and therefore to life on Earth. The story of Tethys is also a story of extinctions, and floods, and extraordinary episodes such as the virtual drying up of the Mediterranean, before being filled again by a dramatic cascade of water over the straits of Gibraltar. 
Click on the image for a review of this book

Dorrik Stow
300 pages, 15 b/w illustrations and maps.
Oxford University Press
ISBN-13: 9780199214297
 
 

by Paul Kay & Frances Dipper 
£19.95 incl. p&p
Soft cover

With 256 pages and numerous photographs supported by drawings, this book is the most comprehensive photographic guide to marine fish currently available in the UK. Published for the Marine Conservation Society with support from the Countryside Council for Wales. 

Click on the image to order this book through the Marine Conservation Society

RECOMMENDED PURCHASE *****

July 2010

PS: A second revised edition of the book has been published. 

SEASHORE SAFARIS
 
 
 

Publisher: Graffeg
Publisher's Review (click on this text)
Review by the City and County of Swansea

This is the book I should have written (and I dare say a few others as well) and is a much needed introduction to the world of the seashore and the hobby of rockpooling. It is a photographic guide to most of the common species encountered which is much appreciated as newcomers and even experienced rockpoolers will try and match up what they have seen to a visual image (and photographs work better than line drawings) and this will usually get them the correct species, (unless there are two very alike species and then you will need a specialist identification guide like the Collins Guide to the Seashore).

However, the seashore is a rich and interesting habitat with a myriad of species and 225 pages of this large pocket guide are comprehensively covered to suit the enthusiast.

Extract from the foreword by Keith Hiscock:
"Being able to names to what you see and, better still, to use your observations to add to our knowledge about the natural world is what this book is about."

But the book for a popular audience is more than this. It starts from the assumption that the parents and teachers and older children are unfamiliar with the seashore environment.

RECOMMENDED PURCHASE *****

Not just a cookery book: you have to go down to the shore and catch or collect the food yourself. The 240 page hardback book (with an index) is exceptionally well produced in quality of the binding, paper as well as the quality of writing, information and clear useful colour photographs. It is well organised into nine chapters:
 
 

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

 
 
 

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.
 

BMLSS General Guides
BMLSS Advanced Guides