Volunteers enjoy annual Marine Strandings Network Forum

5 December 2009

Keen volunteers from all over Cornwall gathered in Truro at the weekend for their sixth Marine Strandings Network Forum, organised by Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network and hosted by Truro College.

Although the event was a social occasion, it also had a serious purpose.

"Our volunteers are at the forefront of scientific research into the deaths of marine animals and it's thanks to their efforts on the front line that we can start to piece together information about what kills dolphins, seals, basking sharks and turtles in Cornish waters" says Ruth Williams, Marine Conservation Officer for the Trust.

The network of volunteers record and photograph all stranded marine animals in Cornwall and the information they have collected over many years is passed on to Government departments responsible for the marine environment.

The Forum presentations covered a range of subjects including talks from veterinary investigation officers James Barnett and Nick Davison on evidence of bottlenose dolphin interactions with other species, and some of the bacteriological findings from post-mortems of marine animals.

Rebecca Allen from the Cornwall Seal Group explained her work on the entanglement of grey seals, and Stephen Pikesley, an MSc student from University of Exeter in Cornwall presented his findings on his analysis of sightings and strandings data held by Cornwall Wildlife Trust. 

Jan Loveridge, Strandings Co-ordinator for the MSN described the notable findings from the last 12 months' strandings in Cornwall, and Rob Deaville from the Institute of Zoology's Cetacean Strandings Investigation Project gave an update on the programme and explained how the Marine Strandings Network's data from Cornwall contributes to the national picture. He thanked the volunteers and the Trust for their hard work and described the Network as a role model for other organisations.

The afternoon was dominated by an overview of the mass stranding of 26 common dolphins in June 2008.  Dave Jarvis of British Divers Marine Life Rescue gave an account of what happened on the day from the volunteers' perspective during the rescue.

Dr Paul Jepson from the Institute of Zoology London then presented the results of the Institute's investigation into the event and Ruth Williams finished by detailing the work Cornwall Wildlife Trust are undertaking with the Royal Navy to try to prevent such a tragedy happening again. The day concluded with a presentation by Tom Hardy, the Trust's Marine Conservation Officer, who updated the group on the marine work of the Trust as well as the implications of the recently announced Marine and Coastal Access Act.

"It's fantastic being part of such a great team and feeling like you can put something back", said one of the volunteers. "It can be very depressing at times, when you see so many dolphins and seals washing up on our Cornish beaches, but the knowledge that I can help to collect really important information from these dead animals keeps me going. Its great coming to this Forum each year to find out what use the data we have all collected has been put to and how it's being used to form legislation to protect marine wildlife. It's also great to meet other like-minded people."

This year has been relatively quiet for the Marine Strandings Network with fewer cetacean (dolphins, whales and porpoise) strandings than have been reported in recent years. Nevertheless, since January 2009 the Network have recorded 71 cetaceans, 56 seals, 3 turtles and 5 basking sharks. There was also an influx of more than 220 Portuguese Man-of-War reported during the late summer and autumn. 

The Forum was also attended by Lucy Jewson, one of the sponsors of the Network and founder of Frugi, the organic children's clothing company. As former marine biologists, Lucy and husband Kurt take a particular interest in marine conservation and were very keen to support the vital research work done by the Network. The company have been donating a share of 1% of its turnover to the project for over three years, through the 1% for the Planet scheme.

Lucy said "As marine biologists we had a particular interest in the Trust's Marine Strandings Network and were amazed to find out the cutting edge research it carries out. Finding out why these wonderful marine creatures are washing up on Cornish shores is crucial if we are to know how to prevent it happening in the first place. We wanted to help the Trust raise as much money as possible to continue their research and we would certainly encourage other businesses to join 1% for the Planet and do the same. It not only feels great knowing you're giving something back, it makes business sense too. Our customers are so supportive of our ethical values, which is why they come back and buy from us again and again."