Saeea H S Rc
Welcome to the thirteenth National Seasearch Newsletter. It is being circulated, by email, to our database of over 3,000
Seasearch participants and interested organisations. In it we want to bring you up to date with some of the things that have
been happening with Seasearch during 2009. There has been so much going on there isn’t room for it all.
Seasearch is a volunteer underwater survey project for recreational divers, enabling them to contribute to protecting marine
wildlife through recording underwater habitats and the plants and animals they support. Seasearch provides training for
volunteer divers and organises dives and survey expeditions.
Another record year for Seasearch recording
Pink shoots of recovery
2009 is already a record year for Seasearch in terms of the A recent Seasearch Devon survey weekend diving reefs in
number of forms we have received. A mixture of good diving Lyme Bay produced some exciting results. Since the bottom
weather for much of the summer, many training dives and trawling ban, the sea fans and reefs are looking healthier and
Seasearchers going out and doing their own thing, has led to there is evidence of really good recent settlement of juvenile
the record figure. You can read more about where the records sea fans. In some areas the estimate was 20plus small
come from and some of the highlights on pages 2, 3 and 4.
recruits (less than 10cm high) per square metre. The dive on
The graph compares the records received so far with a maerl bed showed that it had been well trawled in the past
previous years - and there are still two months to go!
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.
We will continue to monitor the, hoped for, recovery of the
reefs in the area in future surveys.
Focus on Marine Protected Areas
With the passing of the Marine Act expected imminently, and
a similar bill going through the Scottish Parliament, there is
going to be a change of focus from whether we should have
marine protected areas to where they should be.
Seasearch data is being used by the Marine Conservation
Society to suggest 74 marine protected areas in England,
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands.
From 10th November you can express your views on these
suggestions and nominate other sites you think need and
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justify protection at www.yourseasyourvoice.com.
The programme is being launched in London on 10th Seasearch 2008 data and report
November and is supported by the Co-op.
The Seasearch data is also being used in four regional MCZ All of the data received by Seasearch during 2008 has now
projects; Finding Sanctuary (South West England), Irish Sea been entered into the Marine Recorder database and has
Conservation Zones, Net Gain (North Sea), and Balanced been passed on to our partners and will appear on the
Seas (South-East England). CCW is working with the Welsh National Biodiversity Network website - www.searchnbn.net
Assembly Government on a similar project in Welsh waters, The Seasearch Annual Report for 2008 contains the
which is also using Seasearch data. To increase their value highlights of our work in 2008 and can be downloaded from
we have also begun to biotope code our earlier Welsh data.
our website - www.seasearch.org.uk
Seasearch is co-ordinated by the Marine Conservation Society on behalf of the Seasearch Steering Group which comprises the Marine
Conservation Society, Wildlife Trusts, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish
Natural Heritage, Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland, Environment Agency, Marine Biological Association, Nautical
Archaeological Society, British Sub Aqua Club, Sub Aqua Association, Professional Association of Diving Instructors, Scottish Sub Aqua
Club, Irish Underwater Council and independent marine life experts. Financial support is given by the organisations with logos above.
Seasearch data 2009
At the time of writing we had received and logged over 1,650
forms from surveys in 2009, already well exceeding the 2008
figure. The types of forms and where they are from are shown in
the pie charts below and to the right is a map of the locations of
each form. Brief details of each form are already available from
the Seasearch website by downloading the Google Earth file of
the 2009 data. This gives the location and type of each form,
the date, recorder and special features of the site.
Over the winter we will be entering all of the data from 2009
into the Marine Recorder database and producing summary
reports for many of the surveys. The new data should be added
to the existing Seasearch data which is available on the
National Biodiversity Network website (www.searchnbn.net)
by the end of April 2010 and be available for all to use.
2%
1%
2%
Observation
23%
Survey
Sea Fan
Crawfish
Other
72%
Seasearch Forms 2009 by type of form
England
5%
14%
Wales
0%
3%
Scotland
N Ireland
12%
Channel Is
44%
R of Ireland
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22%
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Seasearch Forms 2009 by country
Seasearch dive goes with a bang!
Crawfish recording goes on-line
Seasearch divers Bill and Peter Hewitt were hoping to
One of our focuses this year has been on recording crawfish (or
photograph mantis shrimps which they had previously
crayfish, or spiny lobster - take your pick of common names).
discovered off Ballard Down near Swanage, when they
Crawfish are now a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species
came across what turned out to be a 600lb Second World
because of the small numbers remaining and we have been
War parachute bomb.
asking divers to record them wherever they see them.
The MOD bomb disposal team nicknamed the lobster that
We have introduced an on-line recording facility for both
was using the rear of the casing as a safe home Lennie,
crawfish and pink sea fans, neither of which require sketches. It
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before blowing him and the bomb to smithereens. We hope
is a simple process requiring you to tell us where and when you
the mantis shrimps fared better and Bill and Peter will
saw one of these magnificent crustaceans and whether they
continue their quest to photograph them next year.
were adults or juveniles.
So far we have received 35 records for 2009 from England,
Scotland, Wales and Ireland as well as records on Observation
and Survey forms.
We are also asking divers in Wales to look back through their
logbooks and give us information on when and where they
have seen crawfish n the past. This part of the project is
supported by the Wales Biodiversity Action Partnership and will
include distributing an information pack to all Welsh dive clubs.
A Welsh crawfish is pictured below.
At nearby Swanage Pier the anemone prawns which have
been recorded for the past two years appeared again this
autumn. They were seen by divers on the South East
MCS/Seasearch Marine Ecology course in October. This is
the same time of year as they were seen in both 2007 and
2008. Why they should not be around earlier in the year
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remains a mystery.
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John O'Groats
P l y m o u t h d r o p o f f
Thanks to beautiful September weather Seasearchers were
surveys
able to dive two new sites and revisit an two old ones at this
A series of evening dives have
most northerly point of the British mainland. Interesting
taken place to survey sea fan
sightings included a Mauve Stinger - Pelagia noctiluca and
forest and steep reef edge down
a pair of free swimming organisms related to tunicates -
to 40m and to record Sunset
Thetys vagina, both rare visitors to our coasts. One pair of
cup coral sightings. This area is
divers were even lucky enough to see a sunfish underwater!
currently outside the Plymouth
The strangest sight, however, came upon reaching dry land
Sound SAC but comes within
on day 2 - a life size T-Rex on the back of a truck - apparently
the new draft SAC and all the
it 'drove' all the way from Lands' End!
sunset sightings fell within this
The video of Thetys vagina was on Autumnwatch.
new area. Crawfish, sea fan
anemones & Weymouth carpet
Flamborough No Take Zone
coral were also recorded on
A small no take zone has been established at Sewerby
these very scenic reefs. A full
south of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, and Seasearch
report is available on the
divers carried out the first underwater survey of the area.
Seasearch website.
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There were plenty of crabs and lobsters amongst the chalk
Durham Coast
boulders (photo below). However, being both very shallow
Once one of the most polluted stretches of coastline in the
and about half barren sand, we did not get the impression
UK, a Seasearch survey has revealed that it is now host to a
that it had ever been a very important fishing area. It does
colourful variety of marine life.
not include the much more diverse habitats around the
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Divers encountered a varied undersea landscape of kelp
headland itself, but there was a BAP habitat (mussel beds
forests, sandy sea bed and sponge-encrusted rocky reefs
on sediment, and a BAP species, plaice, recorded.
reclaimed by nature from the county’s industrial past that
saw millions of tons of coal rubble dumped off the coast.
Seasearch divers have recorded numerous species
including lobsters, many types of crab, squat lobsters,
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northern prawns, little cuttle, sea slugs, urchins, common
starfish, brittle stars and colourful anemones. Fishes sighted
included plaice, bib and long-spined sea-scorpions.
Mulberry Re-visited
Seasearch has resurveyed the
Outer Mulberry in Sussex, thirty
years after the first records in 1979
and 13 years after it became a Site
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of Marine Nature Conservation
Importance. The big changes are
Diving a lost village
the growth of jewel anemones and
A brief window of perfect conditions early in the year saw an
cup-corals on the overhanging
Observer course with dives off the lost city of Dunwich on the
swim end, including large numbers
East Suffolk coast. Students were able to observe the
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of the nationally scarce and rare
species which had taken up home on the ruins of St Peters
southern cup corals (Caryophyllia
church, which was still visible as low walls. All the usual
inornata) and Weymouth carpet
suspects were present - Xmas tree nudis, elegant
corals (Hoplangia durotrix) right.
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anemones, oaten pipes and a single common cuttlefish,
though it was interesting to see that no algae or sponges
Kent chalk
could exist in the silty gloom.
Seasearch in Kent 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.
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Pink sea fans blooming
Norfolk mussel bed
Though pink sea fan colonies
JI
DK
grow by budding off new
Seasearch divers have discovered an enormous edible
polyps, there is an annual
mussel bed just off the shore at Sea Palling, Norfolk. Two
sexual reproduction in the
overlapping drift dives proved it to be at least 3km long and
summer when larvae are
0.5 km across, though we haven't found any edges yet! This
released into the plankton and
area was previously undived and thought to be barren sand
some form new colonies.
and gravel by local clubs. It falls just outside one of NEs
MCS Seasearch divers were
proposed SACs, which may now be extended to include it.
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able to photograph the sea fans
Large numbers of common whelks, antenna hydroids,
ready to release their larvae at
juvenile sunstars, common starfish, molgula squirts and
the Manacles, Cornwall at the
common brittlestars were seen, a community very different
end of July - photo right.
from that on nearby wrecks.
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Isles of Scilly
Meet the Seasearch Tutors & Coordinators
T h e f i r s t S e a s e a r c h
Seasearch activities are organised by our team of 16
course for Scilly divers
Coordinators, many of whom are also tutors. Contact details
was held in April followed
for all of the coordinators can be found on the Nationwide
by the annual week long
page of the Seasearch website.
Seasearch survey. In
During 2009 there have been a number of changes.
addition, thanks to the
We a have a coordinator for the
Isles of Scilly Marine
Republic of Ireland for the first
Biodiversity Project, there
time. Adrienne Mockler is the
was a flurry of Seasearch
Scientific Officer for the Irish
activity in Scilly in June
Underwater Council (CFT) and
and September.
RS
has organised a range of
Exciting finds in Scilly this year have included new sites for courses and dives which has
BAP species including stalked jellyfish, pink seafans and led to an unprecedented level
sea fan anemones. Amongst southerly species, the rarely of activity in Ireland.
recorded paddle or slipper lobster was also recorded A d r i e n n e i s n o t o r i o u s l y
(above).
camera-shy so the picture of
her underwater is a rare
New Seasearch Observers and Surveyors
sighting!
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Between January and late October 2009 64 people have We also expect changes in Northern Ireland, where Claire
achieved Seasearch qualifications. The 60 new
Seasearch Goodwin is giving up the role after 5 years to concentrate on
Observers are:
sponges! (there’s no accounting for tastes). Her replacement
Rob Adams, Michael Bateman, Toni Bates, Tavia Bentley, will be Adrian Marshall who is marine biology student from
Frank Berg, Kathryn Birch, David Browning, Fidelma Queen’s University and already a keen Seasearch diver.
Carroll, Anna Cawthray, Gerard Conneely, Spencer Cook, In Hampshire a change in Wildlife Trust staffing has resulted
Wendy Cooke, Neil Davies, Gerard Donnelly, Rebecca in Amy Dale taking over from Angie Gall who is now in the
Eakins, Nicola Faulks, Amanda Ford, Cara Gammage, Tony Isles of Scilly.
Glen, Deirdre Greer, Lynn Hallam, Anne Hindmarch, Phillip We are also welcoming a new coordinator for Sussex. Chris
Hodgson, Simon Jones, Jenni Kakkonen, Bill Larnach, Williams works for Natural England in Lewes and will be
Kathryn Last, Stuart Last, Barry Lister, Albert Kerr, Neil taking over from Kate Cole who is now County Ecologist for
MacInnes, Christine Maddison, Adrian Marshall, Ken Maye, East Sussex. Both Claire and Kate will remain available to
Ann McAvoy, Jon Meek, Ian Meers, Adrienne Mockler, Jane help the new coordinators. Georgia Conolly will also be
Mowatt, Pete Mowatt, Kaisa Muhonen, Chris Newton, helping to run Seasearch activities in Sussex.
Wendy Northway, Tadhg O’Brien, Tomos Parker, David For our courses we currently have a team of 28 active
Prince, Craig Roberston, Alison Ross, Gill Seels, Phil Scott, Seasearch tutors who are able to deliver courses throughout
Michelle Simpson, Ann Smith, Robin Smith, Molly Venning, the UK and Ireland. New tutors this year have been Vicky
Mark Weeks, David Wharf, Bob Wiles, Emily Williams, Swales (S. Wales), Paul Holmes (W Midlands), Kathryn
Leena Wilson and Jan Ziolo.
Dawson (Dorset), Angie Gall (Isles of Scilly), Paula Lightfoot
The 4 Surveyors qualified since January are:
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and Carrie Pillow (both Yorkshire).There are 3 others going
Georgia Connolly, Paula Lightfoot, Carolyn Waddell and through the training process.
Kathryn Dawson.
During 2009 so far there have been a record 58 Seasearch
Congratulations to them all.
courses run. 44 of these have been Observer Courses and
Remember to fill in your Seasearch forms after your dives have involved 465 divers, all new to Seasearch.
and send them off to make them count. Only five completed Unfortunately only 2 Surveyor courses were run, with others
forms are needed for the Observer dogfish and brittlestars
qualification, and six for
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cancelled because of low numbers of potential participants.
the Surveyor qualification - but don’t stop there since ANY We hope that many more divers will want to move up a gear
DIVE CAN BE A SEASEARCH DIVE!
in 2010 . Specialist courses have included fishes, seaweeds,
Club divers have been taking this advice like never before hydroids and bryozoans, nudibranchs, underwater
this year and we have had the most northerly Seasearch photography and marine ecology..
records ever from Out Stack off Unst, the most northerly
point of Britain and Ireland, as well as iconic sites such as St
12
Kilda and Wolf Rock. We have also had our first records from
2
Observer
Liverpool Bay, the only ones this year from North-West
Surveyor
England.
Specialist
This Newsletter is produced twice a year and is sent by
44
either email or post to almost 3,000 individuals and
Seasearch Courses 2009
organisations. We prefer to use email as the printing and
postage costs are high, but you can receive paper copies by
Text by Chris Wood with contributions from many Seasearch
post if you make a contribution of ÂŁ5 . Please let us know by
coordinators. Images by Chris Wood, Dawn Watson, Rob Spray
phone or email if you change your email address.
and Sally Sharrock. Map by Stephen Frampton.
The Seasearch website is the place to look for the latest
Seasearch news, courses, dives and results. You can find it
This Newsletter has been
at:
produced on behalf of Seasearch
by the Marine Conservation
www.seasearch.org.uk
Society, Unit 3 Wolf Business
Park, Alton Road, Ross-on-Wye,
email: info@seasearch.org.uk
Herefordshire, HR9 5NB.
phone: 07776 142096
