DORSET Living Seas news from Dorset Wildlife Trust
News from the Reserve
Issue 26 September 2012
Marine maternity
unit
The Fine Foundation Marine Centre turned into a mini maternity unit this summer as we nurtured a variety of eggs washed ashore by strong winds in May and June.
ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk
In this issue
DORSET WILDLIFE TRUST
Conservation
Baby lesser spotted catshark
Volunteer Bryan Whiting picked up as many of the squid, cuttlefish and catshark eggs as he could and brought them by bucket into the centre where we quickly set up several aquarium tanks to house them. Marine Centre visitors were delighted as they watched the eggs developing,
especially the tiny catsharks as they wriggled around inside their opaque eggcases, pumping their tails to bring in freshly oxygenated water. First to hatch out were the minuscule squid, escaping from their white, sausage shaped egg clusters in large numbers. Too tiny for us to
Wardens news
Part of a nationwide network of Wildlife Trusts
Baby cuttlefish
Photo: Steve Trewhella
ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk
Living seas
Photo: Steve Trewhella
Sightings
feed in captivity these were immediately released into the sea to fend for themselves. Next came the cuttlefish, hatching from their black seagrape eggs. Each egg held one pea-sized animal and they were hard to spot camouflaged against the pea-gravel in the tank. Most were returned straight away but a handful were kept to be fattened up and increase their chances of survival in the wild. They quickly grew as they fed voraciously on mysid shrimps and showed off their amazing colourchanging abilities, becoming almost invisible against the pebbles. Finally and to great excitement the tiny sharks hatched, beautiful spotted miniatures of their parents. These were released within a couple of days of hatching and you can see a film of the release at dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/pmwr
Protecting Wildlife for the Future
Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve
Julie Hatcher with Countryfile’s Adam Henson
Photo:ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk
Countryfile picked a fabulous day to come and film us for a programme aired in June. Presenter Adam helped with a Welly Zone survey and enjoyed a kayak safari before learning about one of our smallest seashore inhabitants, the 2mm lagoon snail.
DWT patron, Simon King, asked for our help when he brought a group to Kimmeridge for a rockpool ramble. Marc and Emma spent an afternoon showing them the best of our seashore wildlife. In July, volunteer marine wardens turned out in force for a bat survey training session led by Jan Freeborn from the Dorset Bat Group. Following an informative talk we headed to the beach armed with bat detectors and recording equipment. After a quiet start the bats suddenly appeared swooping low over our heads
To become a MCZ Friend go to www.wildlifetrusts.org/MCZ friends
At least 250 people attended our National Marine Week events in August, including eco-crabbing, rockpool rambles and marine minibeasts. The weather was in our favour and kept dry for all our events apart from one very wet and slippery eco-crabbing activity! Julie Hatcher, Marine Awareness Officer Marine Week email comments: “Thank you for an enjoyable afternoon on the Rockpool Ramble. We had a very lovely time, and our boys really enjoyed learning all about the creatures they saw.”
We've been playing staff musical chairs this summer! Melinda Fisher replaced Marc Smith as Summer Warden when he moved to our new Chesil Beach Centre in July. Volunteer Emma Godden extended her work placement and has been invaluable in running our educational work at the Marine Centre. Glynis Northwood-Long has been temporarily employed to help with admin. The government indicated that as few as 20 of the 127 recommended Marine Conservation Zones chosen around England may go through next year to form the network. The Wildlife Trusts know this will be inadequate to recover our depleted marine environment. Our 'campaign' this summer is to recruit Friends for each of the 8 Dorset rMCZs to stand up in support of their own favourite site.
and along the beach feeding on strandline flies.
Clare Tarling, Matt, Callum (5) and George (2).
MCZ friend
MCZ friends
“Just a quick note to say how much the girls and I enjoyed the ramble yesterday afternoon-we had a brilliant time and it was great to be able to see so many species in one place, many of which we'd not seen rockpooling before.” Steve Austen
Photo:ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk
Our stakeholder-led PMWR committee has morphed into the PMWR Advisory Group and we are looking for additional members to take an active part in our work. In particular we are looking for sea anglers, divers and local residents to represent those interests. Please contact me on 01929 481044 if you or someone you know is interested.
Marc, Simon King and Emma
Photo:ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk
ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk Photo: Steve Trewhella
What a busy summer we've had! Here are some of the highlights in brief:
Photo: M Leigh-Mallory
news
Rockpooling
Photo: S Canham
Sightings The main weather feature this summer has been gales accompanied by rough seas. Despite this there have been more dolphin encounters than usual to make up for the lack of underwater sightings.
Bottlenose dolphins
Compass jellyfish
Early August saw the arrival of a small number of compass and blue jellyfish in Kimmeridge Bay, one of which was photographed by Nigel Northwood.
Goose-necked barnacles, ocean-wanderers, were carried inshore at Kimmeridge and Friars Cliff, Christchurch in early July and again at the end of August, attached to floating objects including driftwood, wooden pallets and plastic fishboxes. Both common goose barnacles and buoy barnacles were recorded.
Diver Kenrina Maidment photographed a beautiful undulate ray on the seabed close to the wreck of the Fleur de Lys in Swanage Bay at the end of August. This sighting strengthens evidence pointing
Photo: Kenrina Maidment
Visitors on our Kimmeridge Kayak Safari on 14th August were thrilled when a grey seal popped its head up right next to them. This was our second recorded grey seal sighting at Kimmeridge this year and was also enjoyed by many people on the shore.
Photo: N Northwood
Throughout the summer regular sightings of bottlenose dolphins have been reported, often a group of 8 to 10 individuals including a couple of juveniles. Most have been from the St. Albans Head to Swanage area but also some as far east as Southbourne. DWT members aboard our World Oceans Day boat trip from Poole Harbour in July were delighted by a group of 8 bottlenose dolphins bowriding. Marine life boat trips in Lyme Bay at the end of July reported seeing lots of whitebeaked dolphins, common dolphins and harbour porpoise as well as a breaching thresher shark, sunfish and a minke whale!
Undulate ray
to a spawning and nursery area for this endangered species in the Swanage/ Studland vicinity. A spear-fisherman in Portland had a thrilling close encounter with a porbeagle shark. The animal bumped him repeatedly as he headed for shore. It was clearly picking up the scent of the dead fish he had speared, which he discarded immediately, but as the water was cloudy it continued to follow him. At no time did it physically hurt him although his heart was racing by the time he got out of the water! Strandline expert Steve Trewhella discovered a couple of tiny crabs among other marine life on a fish box washed up on Chesil Beach. Being unable to identify them these have been sent off to a
crab expert at the Natural History Museum and we await his verdict. They may just be juvenile forms of common British species or may be exotic species carried here from distant shores on drifting flotsam.
Photos:ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk
Sea-angler project
As a student with Bournemouth University studying Marine Ecology and Conservation at Kingston Maurward College I have been tasked with a Sea-Angler Engagement Project. The aim is to actively engage sea anglers in Dorset with the Recycle Fish initiative and foster a wide-spread responsible-take attitude within the sport. I started with research into education and tuition. After much searching and conversations with the Angling Trust and the Environment Agency, amongst others, I discovered that there is very little tuition available for young sea anglers or adults taking up the sport for the first time. The majority of people are self-taught or learn from friends or family. A questionnaire was designed to get feedback from sea anglers on how they were taught; what they do with their catch; their opinions and
awareness of Marine Protected Areas, the Recycle Fish Campaign and SeaClean bins and whether they would be prepared to report their catch or sightings. Initially I was apprehensive at the response being a representative from DWT a wildlife conservation charity. I needn't have worried; the response has been great and actually very welcoming from the anglers. So far just under 100 questionnaires have been completed.
Before carrying out the survey many expressed their concern over the depletion of fish and the catch sizes over the past ten to twenty years, with the majority
blaming foreign commercial fishing boats. They also commented on the amount of rubbish left by “other� anglers for instance tackle, lines and hooks left on the shore. Those questioned said they took theirs home every time or used a bin on the beach. When discussing Marine Protected Areas most anglers were aware of them and initially thought these would have no effect or a negative effect on the sport. Those who felt it would be negative assumed that all MPA's would be nofishing zones but after explaining to them that is not the case, they then agreed that it would either have no effect or have a positive one for the sport. Those who were more informed on MPA's felt it would have a positive effect by increasing fish populations. When it came to the Recycle Fish initiative unfortunately many had not heard of or seen the Tacklebox Tips leaflet. This was not surprising as many anglers questioned lived outside Dorset or were new to the sport. All, of course,
walked away with the leaflet and many of the first time anglers felt it would be helpful especially for the catch sizes and season dates. One very positive response was to the question of whether they would be prepared to report their catch. Many said they currently don't but if it was clear and easy to do they would be happy to.
One of our Seaclean bins at Swanage
Lynn Marsland. Volunteer Marine Warden
news Photo: Polly Whyte - earthinfocus
Living seas
A new online Fish Guide has been launched this summer giving consumers, retailers and chefs the first ever checklist of approved Dorset seafood. The new guide, part of our Great Dorset Seafood campaign, covers many of the fish caught in Dorset and considers the status of fish stocks and how they are caught, promoting those with the minimum environmental impact. Marine Officer Emma Rance, says: “We are standing up for Dorset's inshore fishermen and marine wildlife by putting our seal of approval to seafood that is fresh and locally caught, using fishing practices that are sensitive to the environment and providing high quality seafood. So it's good for you and it's good for Dorset and its wildlife.”
Dorset Wildlife Trust has PANACHE!
You can search the guide by species, season or fishing method and then check the traffic light rating for whether DWT recommends, advises caution or suggests avoiding it. Dorset fish that get the green light on the new Fish Guide include rod and line caught pollack, mackerel and black seabream; and pot caught lobster and edible crabs. A red light is given to species including ray (skate), shark and eel owing to their stock levels or conservation status. Check out the Fish Guide at www.greatdorsetseafood.org. uk/fishguide
Dorset Wildlife Trust is embarking on an exciting new cross-Channel project to develop stronger protection and a wider sense of ownership of the marine environment - PANACHE. PANACHE is a €4Million+ project involving partners on both sides of the Channel, including several Wildlife Trusts, the Marine Institute and the French Marine Protected Areas Agency.
Edible crab
Photo: Polly Whyte - earthinfocus
Citizen science
Planning for the Marine Environment Dorset's C-SCOPE project, which included DWT's DORIS seabed mapping exercise, could help the development of the first marine plans for the south coast for which work is just beginning. The Marine & Coastal Access Act (2009) brought in a new way of managing activities in the sea which previously had been
The project is looking at management and monitoring of Marine Protected Areas and will evaluate whether the MPA network being proposed in England and France will deliver. A strong element of the project involves “citizen science” where members of the public are involved in wildlife monitoring. This is something DWT has a lot of expertise in, with programmes such as Seasearch and the Welly Zone project. PANACHE will continue until summer 2015.
Photo:ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk
Pollack
rather disconnected and piece-meal. New marine plans are being created in stages around the country - the east coast area plan is nearing completion. Now the south coast area, including Dorset's sea, has been chosen and includes some of the busiest waters in the UK. The C-SCOPE project developed a pilot marine plan for part of Dorset so we are already ahead of the game.
Freeze frame Doug Allan is one of the world's most respected and well-known wildlife cameramen. His is best known for his work in the polar regions where he has worked for over 35 years. Sir David Attenborough said of him “He is not as other men. He cheerfully endures conditions more uncomfortable and for longer periods than anyone I know. ........... He has an uncanny understanding of animals, ranging from tiny birds to gigantic whales, that tells him what the animal is about to do before it does it - and so enables him to move his camera to get a breathtaking, perfectly composed shot.�
when I did Right Whales in Argentina way back in 1989. This female was so friendly that she ended up pushing me through the water on the end of her rostrum. Big highs all of them.
Marine Awareness Officer, Julie Hatcher, was lucky to meet Doug and took the opportunity to ask him a few questions: How did you first come to work in the polar regions? My first passion was diving, which I started at school. That led to a marine biology degree, but on graduating in 1973 I decided I didn't want to be in what I termed 'science at the sharp end' so I cut loose and simply looked for excuses to dive. Two years later I read an article in a dive mag written by someone who'd just been a scientific diver in the Antarctic. I tracked down the address for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), applied to them and in 1976 was heading south to one of their research bases on a year's contract as Diver. Best move I ever made! What is it about working in extreme conditions that attracts you? I guess at heart I like the challenge. There's always been a physical element to what I've liked doing, a kind of edginess. Extreme conditions make for high emotions. It's not like I'm an adrenaline junkie, and I don't like bullshit, but there's a
You have filmed humpback whales in the Antarctic and in the slightly warmer waters around Tonga in the South Pacific. Can you describe what it's like being underwater with a humpback whale? Searching for Bowhead whales
huge satisfaction in bringing back pictures from difficult situations. What was your most exciting wildlife encounter? It's tough to pick out a single one to be honest. Being grabbed by a walrus while I was snorkelling in the Arctic was my hairiest moment. Watching the polar bear cubs come out of their den for the first time on Kong Karl's Land filming for Planet Earth, that was wonderful because we'd been there for weeks before we found a den and we thought we might fail completely. The first time I ever was close to a big whale,
The secret is to be patient, take the time to develop a relationship with the individuals, spend maybe the first couple With huskies in Greenland
Doug filming Humpback Whales in the South Pacific
of encounters just at the limit of vis so she gets to know you. But then if it's inclined to friendliness, you can move in. Eye to eye, only a couple of metres apart, you completely realise how much she's weighing you up. Play your cards right in terms of body language and she'll relax. Then just more patience and the chances of seeing behaviour will follow. There's no greater compliment an animal can pay you than be chilled in your company so you should be reciprocally grateful. Exciting, humbling, it's a wonderful privilege.
But it's there at the microscopic level, tiny particles carried on the currents and lasting for years. Parts of the Arctic have more visible plastic pollution - the Arctic region is effectively a frozen ocean surrounded by land, with several huge rivers draining into it, and people living round the periphery. Plastic often isn't recycled or disposed of properly, it drifts around and eventually makes it ashore somewhere.
Weddell seal mum and pup
Do you have any concerns for the future of any of the wildlife you film? If so, which do you think is most at risk and what do you consider is the most important thing we can do individually to address the problem? We should all be aware of the fragility of the natural systems we all too often take for granted. We've made significant inroads with many issues over the last thirty years, we've protected some areas and some species, but climate change and ocean acidification are a wholly different level of concern. They're simply so big and all encompassing. It's depressing that the only solution thrown up by the politicians to the economic 'crisis' seems to be a return to business as usual when we should actually be weaning ourselves off consumption. We need leaders with bigger vision, and we need to show them they'll have our support even when they take steps that in the short term make things more costly.
Deep warm water is creeping south, giving more temperate water animals the chance to establish themselves down there. The very old stable ecosystem is in real danger of invasion by foreign species.
What led you to become involved in the film being made by the Plastic Oceans movement? Jo Ruxton and Lizzie Bewick are old friends and I filmed with both of them when they worked for the BBC Natural History Unit. When they come up with a project as big and ambitious as Plastic Oceans, and they ask you to be involved - well what a great chance!
Adelie Penguins
In the UK our coastal waters suffer from a tide of plastic debris. Is this something you have ever encountered in polar waters? You see very little in the Antarctic because the ships and bases now have a very rigorous policy of non disposal of all waste in Antarctica. Fighting Polar bears
The Antarctic is generally pictured as a pristine wilderness - is this still a true picture? In some respects, yes. But we hammered the seals and whales for a hundred and fifty years since discovering them around 1820, and the balance there was originally will never be restored, even though there is some recovery these days. But climate change is affecting Antarctica, the Peninsula region that stretches out towards South America - that's the most rapidly warming place on the planet. Winter temperatures are several degrees C warmer than they were fifty years ago.That's greatly affecting the distribution of species of penguin like the Adelies, whose numbers on the Peninsula are falling significantly.
Find out more about Doug Allan and his work at www.dougallan.com and read about his amazing adventures and see some of his breath-taking photographs in his new book Freeze Frame.
All photographs courtesy of Doug Allan
Photo: Steve Trewhella
ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk
Volunteering
Dive Against Debris
Dive Against Debris With support from the National Trust and sponsored by Poole Accident Repair we all met up early on the Saturday morning and the divers entered the water three at a time, covering set areas. All litter retrieved was examined closely and any marine life on it was returned to the sea. Unsurprisingly given the time of year not much litter was found and a second clean up in September at the end of the summer season is planned. Photo: M Smith
Because of the sensitivity of the area, home to rich seagrass meadows and breeding seahorses, all divers attended a pre-dive briefing and talk about the seahorses on the evening before the dive to ensure a strict protocol was
followed and disturbance to wildlife was prevented. Photo: Chris Roberts
In May we teamed up with local dive club Flippas n Fins and event organiser Mark Ninnim to carry out an underwater clean-up at Studland Bay, under the Project AWARE Dive Against Debris initiative.
Corkwing Wrasse
Wildlife photos wanted
DWT has a very active photography group who regularly upload their wildlife photos on to our Flickr site. These are used extensively on our website, in newsletters and other publications. However there is a shortage of marine photos, both on the seashore and underwater. Many people now have waterproof housings for their cameras and occasionally we are sent some beautiful underwater images. So if you take underwater or seashore photos and would like to show them off, why not join our Flickr group and share them with other wildlife lovers to demonstrate how colourful and special our marine wildlife is? Go to www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk and click on Flickr “+ photos� to view or add photos.
We regularly post marine sightings from Kimmeridge and all along the Dorset coast on our website and would love to share your sightings too. These could be animals washed up on the beach, seabirds, dolphins, rockpool or underwater life. Please let us know what you have seen, where and any behaviour or other details and we will post it up for everyone to see. Send sightings to Kimmeridge@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk Petition Fish at Chesil Centre
Have you signed our Petition Fish? You can sign in person at either of our Fine Foundation Centres at Kimmeridge or Chesil Beach or sign online at www.wildlifetrusts.org/petitionfish or text 'FISH' with your name and postcode to 60777.
To view recent sightings go to www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/pmwr
You can contact us at: kimmeridge@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk or Dorset Wildlife Trust, Fine Foundation Marine Centre, Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve, Kimmeridge, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5PF Tel: 01929 481044
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