This course is full as of 23/09/2003.

Seasearch is a national project for volunteer sports divers who have an interest in what they're seeing under water, want to learn more and want to help protect the marine environment.

The main aim is to map out the various types of sea bed found in the near-shore zone, up to about 5 miles off the coast or 30m depth around the whole of the British Isles. In addition Seasearch are recording what lives in each area, establishing the richest sites for marine life, the sites where there are problems and the sites which need protection.

Seasearch Training
Seasearch Observer is a one-day course aimed at giving divers new to the project and new to marine recording a basic grounding. At the end of the course you should be able to complete the Seasearch Observation Form and take part in Seasearch Dives either on your own, with your club or on dives organised by Seasearch Partners.

During the course you'll learn about Seasearch - its aims, history and achievements, a basic introduction to the variety of marine life in UK waters, recognising and classifying marine habitats, position fixing, and how to fill in the Observation Form. The day concludes with a 'video dive' and an opportunity to fill in a form without even getting wet!

The course includes a splash proof course pack and everything you'll need to go ahead and get started. The tutors are all divers themselves and drawn from our partner organisations and keen Seasearchers.

During the course you'll get a Seasearch Qualification booklet. Once you have completed 5 for real (two on dives with a Tutor present) you can get signed up as a Seasearch Observer.

Seasearch Observer Training Course
A Seasearch Observer Course will be held on Saturday November 8th in central Edinburgh, starting at 9am and running through to about 5pm. The course will be run by Calum Duncan of the Marine Conservation Society, with help from experienced Seasearch enthusiasts. The course costs £20 per person, a programme can be downloaded here. Places are limited so booking is essential. The course is classroom based and suitable for anyone with an interest in learning more about the marine environment. For qualified divers it may be possible to arrange a Seasearch Dive on Sunday 9th.

If you would like to take part, or would like more information please contact Alison Fish

Posted 11/09/03

Good News for Darwin Mounds

The Darwin Mounds, Scotland's ancient coral reefs, will finally receive protected status according to environment minister Elliot Morley. Conservation groups including the Marine Conservation Society and the WWF have fought an 18 month long battle to force government ministers to honour an election pledge to protect this unique part of Scotland's natural heritage.

The reefs, discovered in 1998, provide a nursery for many species of fish and as such should be important to the stricken Scottish fishing industry and conservationists alike. Despite this researchers have already detected damage from deep sea trawl nets. The reefs will be protected under the European Union habitats directive once the paperwork has been completed and approved by the British government in Westminster. In the meantime Elliot Morley has asked the European Commission to invoke it's emergency powers and close the area to trawlers within the next few weeks.

Conservationists say the announcement is 'fantastic news' and hope that by using the EC's emergency powers further destruction of the reefs will be avoided.

Posted 30/06/03

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Ship wrecked on the Summer Isles

A cargo ship has sunk after hitting rocks on the island of Tanera Mor near Ullapool. The Jambo was carrying zinc to Norway when the vessel hit rocks near the Summer Isles. RNLI volunteers rescued the ship's Polish and Croatian crew before the Jambo sank in 20 metres of water.

Mike Deeming of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency told reporters a salvor had already been appointed and would assess the possibilities of removing the ship's fuel oil and cargo of zinc, or even raising the vessel if conditions prove favourable.

The Summer Isles are situated at the mouth of Loch Broom in an environmentally sensitive area, local authorities are concerned that the zinc and oil will cause long term damage to the marine environment if left onboard.

Posted 30/06/03

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Fishy sounds help coral reefs

Young reef fish are attracted by sounds they heard while they were in the egg according to researcher Stephen Simpson. The team believe that using sounds familiar to juvenile fish can lead the fish to new areas of reef and encourage colonization. The technique, if successful, could help to repopulate over fished areas and stock marine parks and protection zones.

Simpson explained "Many coral reef fish are spawned on the reef, and while the eggs develop, their noisy parents look after them. Once they hatch, the ant-sized fish escape out to sea for a month to escape the many predators on the reef. There they develop into juveniles. They wait for the new moon and then, under the cloak of darkness, they cross the ‘wall of mouths’ to settle on a reef. This research has also solved a mystery - how they choose a reef has baffled us for many years.”

Working at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, the researchers have used noise to persuade fish to settle on artificial reefs. In addition, by playing comparable noises to fish eggs, Simpson and Dr Hong Yan at University of Kentucky discovered that embryos would hear the noises made by the fish on their reef before they have even hatched.

Simpson explains, “The noise consists of the pops, bangs, whoops and trumpet sounds used by nocturnal fish to communicate as they hunt. A background crackle is also made by bubbles popping at the clawtips of snapping shrimps. The difference in noise during the day and at night can be compared to a quiet suburban street and rush hour traffic,”

Working alongside Dr Mark Meekan of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Simpson put speakers into artificial reefs, and found that fish used the recorded noises to find a place to settle. “The number of fish arriving on noisy reefs was six times the amount that went to the silent reefs. These experiments provide substantial evidence that fish use reef sounds to navigate when seeking suitable spots to make their home” he says.

This suggests that their memories may become imprinted with the noise of their particular reef - information that could be essential when they are later choosing where to settle.

Picture by Stephen Simpson
Posted 15/06/03

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Robert Ballard, best known for discovering long lost wrecks including the Titanic and the WWII battleship Bismarck, is turning his attention to the biblical story of the Great Flood.

Over the last five years Ballard and his team have been exploring the Black Sea in search of ancient wrecks, an area well known for yielding wrecks in pristine condition. The Black Sea is cold and has little current or tidal flow to break up wooden wrecks. The oxygen content is very low and does not easily support life, including the boring worms usually responsible for eating away wooden structures in other marine environments; a combination that provides almost perfect conditions for preservation of perishable artefacts. During recent expeditions Ballard's team have discovered apparently man-made formations on the seabed. This year the team will use a high tech, remotely operated submarine to explore the area, the sub is equipped with pressure sensors which allow it to perform delicate manoeuvres

The expedition has a website at www.nationalgeographic.com/blacksea/

On June 11th Norway announced a protection zone for a rare cold water reef - meanwhile the British government have yet to fullfil their promise to protect Scotland's own cold water reef - the Darwin Mounds.

Tisler reef lies along the Norway Sweden border at a depth of 75 - 155 metres, the protection zone has been announced to prevent further damage caused by fishing trawlers. The Norwegian government has received the World Wildlife Fund's highest award, a "Gift to the Earth", in recognition of the importance of saving this rare coral reef.

"Norway wants to see the destruction of cold water coral reefs ended," said Norwegian Minister of the Environment, Børge Brende. "We have taken the first steps to stop the destruction of our own reefs and more steps will follow. I call on other nations to increase their activities to protect their coral reefs against both the direct and indirect threats."

By comparison the UK government has failed designate the Darwin Mounds as a Special Area of Conservation, despite promising to do so in October 2001. "There appears to be little political will in the UK to follow through on a 596 day old promise by Margaret Beckett to protect these reefs, which are likely to be smashed up even more by deep water fishing," commented Helen McLachlan, Marine Policy Officer for WWF Scotland. "We are staggered by the UK Government's continued failure to take steps to protect this unique habitat. Norway has really shown the way - what a shame the UK seems unwilling to be equally committed."

The lophelia corals that make up these reefs make an important contribution to the health of the seas by providing habitats for sea fans, sponges, worms, starfish, sea urchins and crustaceans. They also serve as essential spawning and nursery grounds for several fish species, including some commercial ones such as orange roughy and grenadiers.

"Unique cold water reefs such as the Darwin Mounds are invaluable breeding grounds for commercial stocks. They have taken thousands of years to establish yet they can be wiped out in an instant by trawling activity. It's vital the government acts to save the Darwin Mounds now," added McLachlan.

Reward for Monkfish Eggs

Scientists at Fisheries Research Services (FRS) Marine Laboratory are offering a £50 reward for the fertilised free-floating egg masses produced by female monkfish.

These large gelatinous masses can be up to 10m by 3m in size and may be found floating near the surface in Scottish waters. The egg masses are rarely found, yet they could provide vital information on the breeding behaviour of monkfish, including whether more than one male fish is involved in the fertilisation process and if the fish have distinctive spawning grounds.

Egg masses taken directly from the female are of no use for the study. Ideally the egg masses should be frozen once recovered, although they will keep for a few days on ice. Before storage the mass should be placed in a container or large plastic bag. If lack of space prevents storage in its entirety, then nine or ten samples (approximately one litre each) taken from different parts of the mass would suffice. "We would also be interested in hearing about any
sightings made with respect to these egg masses."

You can contact the following FRS staff members for further information:

• Martha O'Sullivan Tel: 01224 295326
• Peter Wright Tel: 01224 295436

Thanks to Alex Gallego of Grampian Branch for submitting this item.
Posted 15/06/2003

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