24th November 2011

For the last seven years, Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Strandings Network (MSN) has held an annual conference in the autumn. This year was no exception and nearly 100 people, including guests and experts from scientific institutions, attended the event which was hosted by Truro College. 

The reputation of the event has grown significantly over the years, thanks to the high standard of work carried out by the strandings volunteers and the scientific research that has resulted from their efforts.

Jan Loveridge, MSN Co-ordinator who organised the forum says, "It was another fantastic event. We were privileged to be joined by a number of great speakers in the field of marine science, who were invited to give presentations about their research."

Among them was Rob Deaville, Manager of the Defra-funded UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme. He summarised six years of UK strandings data, which show that disease and net entanglement are the main threats to dolphins, porpoises and whales.

Dr Paul Jepson from the Institute of Zoology explained why tissue samples are taken from stranded dolphins and whales during post-mortem examinations and how measuring levels of pollutants in the bodies of these animals is telling us so much about their state of health. Dr Jepson's research has shown a clear-cut link between pollutants in the marine environment and disease, which poses a serious risk to large animals such as bottlenose dolphins and can have severe effects on the long-term survival of local populations.

Basking sharks are a popular sight in Cornwall and Dr Brendan Godley, Associate Professor in Conservation Biology at the University of Exeter, spoke about recent research which showed how the numbers and distribution of these gentle giants had changed in Cornwall in recent years. There appear to have been fewer animals sighted, although they may simply be feeding at depth where they will go unseen, and they appear to be arriving in the south-west much later in the season than was previously the case.

Sue Sayer of Cornwall Seal Group (CSG) described the group’s ground breaking work in photo identification of individual seals by their pelt markings and how this information was used to monitor seal movements between Cornwall, Wales and even France.

Accidental bycatch in inshore nets is still a serious threat to porpoises in particular. Dr Nick Tregenza introduced the audience to the 'Banana pinger', a new device to deter porpoises from getting caught in fishing nets. Although there are several similar pingers available to fishermen, they have many drawbacks such as cost, safety and battery life. This new pinger addresses those problems and will be considerably cheaper, making it easier and more cost effective for boats to deploy.

Tom Hardy, Marine Conservation Officer at the Trust said "Cornwall Wildlife Trust is trialling the practicality and effectiveness of the new Banana pinger with local fishing boats at present. This is ground breaking research in the inshore fleet and we hope to have positive results in the next few months which could result in a potential solution to help protect these animals in our local waters."

Presentations continued with Dave Jarvis and Faye Archell, of British Divers Marine Life Rescue, giving a summary of the live-strandings of the increasing number of cetaceans and seals they had attended around Cornwall over the last eight years.

Finally, MSN Coordinator Jan Loveridge spoke about the many notable strandings the MSN had recorded this year to-date, together with James Barnett, Veterinary Investigation Officer from the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Polwhele who described the findings of post-mortem examinations carried out on some of the animals. Seventy-four cetaceans (compared to 58 in 2010) have been examined and recorded by the MSN volunteer team, including a number that appeared to have been accidentally caught in nets. Several porpoises had evidence of being attacked by bottlenose dolphins. A rare Cuvier's beaked whale was also examined. Forty-four grey seals have been recorded to date. Jan Loveridge emphasised the vital role that the AHVLA laboratory plays in scientific research into marine mammals and urged participants at the conference to protest against Government cuts which will force the lab to close.

Marine Conservation Manager, Ruth Williams, says, "We want to say a big Thank you to all the speakers and those attending – it was another fascinating and successful conference.  It is great to see the passion and determination of people willing to give up their time to help gather the evidence needed to learn more about the animals that live in our waters and to do something to help protect them.  It makes it all worth while!"

The Trust's Living Seas work is supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the SITA Trust and local organic children’s clothing company, Frugi.