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 The Cornwall
Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network is the official recorder for all marine strandings
in Cornwall.
The Marine Strandings Network consists of a team of over 120
volunteers who record all reported strandings of organic organisms on Cornwall's coastline.
Although this includes everything from jellyfish to nuts,
the volunteers' main activity is recording and photographing
all stranded dolphins, whales and porpoises (collectively
known as cetaceans) as well as seals, basking sharks and
turtles.
Volunteers have been collecting data on strandings for many years and we
now have over 3700 records on our strandings database, the earliest dating back to 1308!
The records are kept by the Strandings Coordinator
and are shared with other organisations.
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In 2005 we recorded 103 dead dolphins and whales
around Cornwall and in 2006, 175.
We work in partnership with the Environmental Records
Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS) and the Natural History Museum
which runs the UK Whale and Dolphin Stranding Scheme under
which the records of all stranded cetaceans from around
the UK coast are collated. The information is used to inform
Government and the EU on the status of cetaceans in UK waters
and, as Cornwall has the highest rate of cetacean deaths
in the UK, the data we provide as volunteers are vital
in influencing change.
The bodies of dead dolphins may be retrieved by our volunteers
for post-mortem examination on behalf of our other
partners, the Institute of Zoology. This procedure
can confirm the cause of death and offer a vast amount of
information that enhances our understanding of the lives
of cetaceans and the threats to their survival.
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