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Seasearch News Updated 19thFebruary 2010 Seasearch diving in 2010 underway The prize for the first Seasearch form of 2010 goes to Tony Glen in the Isle of Man and was completed at Port Erin on 3rd January. Tony also completed the last form of 2009 (so far) on 13th December. The first organised Seasearch dive of the year was organised by Reading BSAC who dragged National Coordinator Chris Wood kicking and screaming into the sea on 23rd January. All the divers really enjoyed the dive on the Lulworth Banks, despite the 7degree water temperature and darkness at 20m. It really concentrated the mind on looking at all the small things there were to see, especially the sponges, which were particularly numerous and varied. 11 divers completed their first Obervation Forms.
2009 a record year for seasearch We have now logged 2,048 records into our system for 2009. This is already 43% more than the previous record of 1,428 achieved in the whole of 2008 and there may be more in the pipeline. If you still have Seasearch forms from 2009 sitting on your desk please send them off and make them count. We are now well underway with the lengthy, but essential, process of entering all of the data into the Marine Recorder database. This is due to be completed and checked by the end of March, following which it will go onto the National Biodiversity Network website and be distributed to the partner organisations. With 43% more data to enter, it is a huge task.
Just under half the data so far comes from sites in England (889 forms) and includes dives from the Farne Islands to the Isles of Scilly and most places in between. Wales comes next (397 forms), followed by Scotland (325 forms), the Republic of Ireland (273 forms) and the Isle of Man (93 forms) The number of forms from the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man are both hugely more than in any previous year.
In England the highest number of forms comes from Devon (208 forms) followed by the North-East (159 forms), Dorset (138 forms) and Cornwall/Isles of Scilly (125 forms). 2009 is the most evenly spread for data ever with many more records from less dived areas, especially on the east coast, where we have had 224 forms from England's North Sea coast and 190 forms from South-East England.
70% of the forms received have been Observation Forms which reflects all the training courses and training dives undertaken during the year. We have already received a staggering 77% more Observation Forms than in any previous year. We have had 40 crawfish sightings recorded on line so far and others as a part of broader surveys on Observation and Survey forms. Those from the online system are from Scotland (4), Llyn Peninsula (1), Pembrokeshire (21), Ireland (8), Cornwall (4), Devon (1) and the Isle of Man (1). The most surprising record is from St Abbs in south-east Scotland as crawfish have always been rare in the North Sea. There is also historic data coming in from Wales. You can now see where the 2009 data has come from in Google Earth. Just download the file below and open it on your computer and all will be revealed. Some of the recent records are missing as also are some where we have not yet got the correct positions. Google Earth Seasearch Forms 2009
New Seasearch reports available to download Six new Seasearch survey reports from 2009 have just been completed and are available to down load from this site.
The Skomer Marine Nature Reserve report gives the results of Seasearch surveys undertaken within the Skomer MNR during 2009 to complement the volunteer territorial fish surveys carried out on behalf of the Reserve. It includes records from 7 sites in the reserve, 4 of them on the Marloes Peneinsula, and identifies 5 BAP or locally important species recorded. These are sea fan sea slug, Tritonia nilsodhneri, pink sea fan, Eunicella verrucosa, mashed potato sponge, Thymosia guernei, sponge crab, Dromia personata and crawfish, Palinurus elephas. The Devon Summary 2009 is a summary of all of the Seasearch activity in Devon in the year. Some of the highlights included are: sunset cup corals (BAP species) on the Plymouth Drop off, maerl bed (BAP habitat) and organ pipe worms, Serpula vermicularis, in Lyme Bay, Steven’s Goby, Gobius gasteveni, positively identified at several sites, Wembury eelgrass (BAP habitat) surveyed using floating GPS, stalked jellyfish (BAP species)on eelgrass, crawfish (BAP species) recorded on both the south Devon coast and at Lundy and records of pink sea fans, including many new recruits and sea fan anemones, in Lyme Bay following the closure to bottom fishing The Flamborough No Take Zone Survey 2009 reports the results of a one-day of the proposed No Take Zone at Sewerby, south of Falmborough Head. The aim of the survey was to provide baseline information with which future surveys can be compared. The habitats found were rippled sand and friable chalk boulders. Crabs and lobsters were already common in the bouder habitat. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Summary 2009 is a summary of activity in the area in 2009. It includes surveys on chalk reefs (BAP habitat), mixed seabeds, sand and gravel (BAP habitat) and wrecks. The East Anglia Summary 2009 contains a summary of the successful surveys undertaken in the difficult to dive counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. They range from well known wrecks to the rarely dived remains on Dunwich village and include two BAP habitats, chalk reefs around Sheringham and mussel beds on sediment near Sea Palling.
Seasearch Training and Qualifications We ran 60 Seasearch Courses in 2009 with over 635 participants. 46 of the courses were Observer Courses (32 in England, 4 each in Wales, Scotland and Republic of Ireland and 1 each in Northern Ireland and Isle of Man). The first course programme for 2010 is now on the Training page and will be updated as new courses are arranged. There have also been 2 Surveyor Courses and 12 specialist ID courses. During November and December 12 volunteers completed their Observer Qualification. They are , Mary Hunter (I), Frances O'Sullivan (I), Caroline Slater (E), Greg Knapton (E), Jane Willis (E), Michael McDonnell (I), Don Baldwin (I), Glenn King (E), Tim Butter (I), Thomas Hoey (I), Rod Sterland (W) and Mark Hammond (E). The first new Seasearch Observers in 2010 are Michelle Allen (E), Jim Gibson (S) and Phil Hart (W). (E=England, S=Scotland, W=Wales, I=Ireland) We also had 3 new Seasearch Surveyors in November and December. They are Ross Bullimore, Richard West and Winter Dotto, all from W Wales. Congratulations to them all.
Marine Bill now an Act The Marine and Coastal Access Act was passed on 11th November after a huge amount of work by a range of organisations, including the Marine Conservation Society and The Wildlife Trusts, both Seasearch partners. The work of creating a coherent range of marine conservation zones in England and Wales, including highly protected marine reserves, will now gain momentum. Seasearch data will form an important part of the input into the identification of sites for marine reserves. It has already been used by the Marine Conservation Society to draw up its list of the 'jewels in the crown' of our marine environment which it is recommending as reserves. These are in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands and you can see the 73 sites at the Your Seas Your Voice website. You can vote on these sites and suggest others that you think should be protected.
Seasearch data is also being used by the four regional marine conservation zone organisations set up in England and by the Welsh Assembly Government as part of the scientific input to their work. Seasearch coordinators are also involved in advising on sites in their areas and your votes on the Your Seas Your Voice website will also be fed into the process as public involvement. One of the ways were are trying to improve the value of Seasearch data is by adding biotope codes to the habitat information. The 2008 Survey Form data was 80% biotope coded and we hope to do better with the 2009 data. We are also working to biotope code earlier data where we can, starting with Wales, Devon and Cornwall and hopefully continuing with Scotland. This will add value to the species data which is already being fully used.
Some top (and bottom) sightings in 2009 What are likely to remain the most northerly Seasearch records ever came from two groups visiting Unst in Shetland and diving Out Stack which is the most northerly piece of rock in the UK. They found walls of jewel and other anemones and visibility up to 30m (eat your heart out Red Sea!). At the northerly tip of the mainland a Seasearch survey team dived out of John O'Groats in September. Two new and two known sites were visited and highlights were a mauve stinger - Pelagia noctiluca and a pair of free swimming organisms related to tunicates - Thetys vagina both of these species being rare visitors to British coasts. Video of the latter featured briefly on BBC's Autumnwatch, though sadly Seasearch failed to get credited as so often happens. One pair of divers were even lucky enough to see a sunfish underwater!! The strangest sight though came upon reaching dry land on day 2 - a life size T-Rex on the back of a truck - apparently it 'drove' all the way from Lands' End!
An MCS team visited the Manacles in Cornwall at the end of July and, inevitably, spent a good deal of time recording the abundant pink sea fans. What was very noticeable was that many of them had soft swellings on the branches, seen in the picture to the right. We haven't recorded this phenomenon before and we believe it is part of the reproductive process as sea fans are known to produce larvae at this time of year. (Photo Chris Wood)
Seasearch took part in the Wembury Bioblitz in conjunction with the Marine Biological Association and the Natural History Museum. The area was monitored for 24hours from below the water to the top of the cliffs by a large team of experts and with the help of the public. Seasearch undertook a night dive and a dawn dive in the bay and recorded over 65 species including a spotted ray, Raja montagui, which the shore team had found the egg cases for. Red mullet were recorded on the night dive out foraging.
There is a new guide to the Fishes of Wales by Paul Kay and Frances Dipper and published by the Marine Conservation Society. Its the most up to date and comprehensive guide available and includes fish from all around Britain and Ireland. You can buy online from the Marine Conservation Society.
We also carried out what we believed to be the first dives on reefs and cobble beds just north of Spurn Point in Yorkshire. Here we discovered clay reefs and cobble beds with a rich diversity of sponges (photo Chris Wood).
Also as part of our emphasis on records from the North Sea this year Seasearchers have discovered an enormous edible mussel bed just off the shore at Sea Palling in Norfolk. Two overlapping drift dives have proved it to be at least 3km long and 0.5 km across, though we haven't found any edges yet! This area was previously undived (no wrecks) and thought to be barren sand and gravel by local clubs. It falls just outside one of Natural England's proposed MPAs, which may now be extended to include it. Large numbers of common whelks, antenna hyroids, juvenile sunstars, common starfish, Molgula squirts and common brittlestars were seen in the area, a community very different from that on nearby wrecks. Another first for the North Sea during a brief window of perfect conditions earlier in the year saw an Observer course with dives off the lost city of Dunwich on the East Suffolk coast. Students were able to observe the species which had taken up home on the ruins of St Peters church, which was still visible as low walls. All the usual suspects were present - Xmas tree nudis, elegant anemones, oaten pipes and a single common cuttlefish, though it was interesting to see that no algae or sponges could exist in the silty gloom.
In
Kent Seasearch has focused on subtidal chalk habitats between Folkestone
and Kingsdown, as part of a project supported by Natural England’s
Countdown 2010 and the Crown Estate. Surveys have included chalk
gullies, boulders, ledges, ridges and bowls, reaching a record of
over 90 forms completed in the county this year. Local celebrity
presenter, Kaddy Lee-Preston and her team filmed the divers on one
of the trips for a BBC SE “Inside Out” feature this
autumn. Recording Sea Fans and Crawfish on-line You can now record any sightings of crawfish and surveys of pink sea fans on-line through our new system. You just need to sign up for online recording and your details are saved for future visits making it easier than ever to let us know when you see crawfish or measure and record the details of sea fan colonies. You can go to the Recording page for further information or just follow the link below.
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The 
Seasearch
coordinators were well represented at the launch of the Your Seas
Your Voice website in London on 10th November, when Miranda Krestovnikoff,
who is clearly a fan of Seasearch, gave a ringing endorsement of
the work we do.
Beyond Lands End lie the Isles of Scilly, where Seasearchers continue
to find new sites for sunset corals and the, new to British waters,
red blenny is becoming almost commonplace. Also recorded this year
have been slipper lobster, Scyllarus arctus, and rarely
seen sponges and anemones. Other BAP species have included seafan
anemones, crawfish and stalked jellyfish. The photo (by George Gall)
shows sea fan anemones on a white coloured pink sea fan.
A
recent weekend diving reefs out of Lyme Bay produced some exciting
results. Since the bottom trawling ban the sea fans and reefs are
looking healthier and there was evidence of really good recent settlement
of juvenile sea fans. In some areas the estimate was 20plus small
recruits (less than 10cm high) per square metre(photo by Sally Sharrock).
The dive on a maerl bed showed that it had been well trawled in
the past and the living maerl was very sparse and patchy but there
was an abundance and variety of sea squirts and small crustacea
and many clusters of the red fan worm Serpula vermicularis.
The wrasse pictured alongside is not, as you might think, a corkwing
wrasse but a Baillon's Wrasse (photo Claire Goodwin). The pink lips
and fins are quite distinctive. This is a southerly species originally
recorded in our waters from the Channel Islands and seen now and
again in Dorset (seen nesting in Poole Bay this year). This picture,
however, comes from Galway and was one of the finds on the Marine
Life ID course there in
early July.
In
North-east England a team has carried out a re-survey of sites in
Durham previously clogged with mine wastes. In 2009 most of that
has disappeared and shallow seabed with sponges has replaced the
all enveloping coal dust.
A re-survey of the Outer Mulberry in West Sussex was carried out
in October. The first marine life recordings here go back to 1979
and it was declared a Site of marine Nature Conservation Importance
in 1995. The main changes since then have been on the northerly
overhanging 'swim end' of the concrete harbour unit where plumose
anemones have gone and the surface is now covered in cup-corals
and jewel anemones. There are three corals present, the widespread
devonshire cup-coral, and two much rarer species, southern cup-coral
Caryophyllia inornata, and Weymouth carpet-coral Hoplangia
durotrix.
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