Posted: Wednesday 20th August 2014 by Joan
The four divers load up the RIB cpt Zak O Leary
Getting quality information on our marine habitats and the wildlife that depends on them is vitally important when it comes to arguing for their conservation, writes Dominic Flint.
This provides a more complete picture of the fantastically diverse marine environment of the Somerset coast that has been somewhat underappreciated in the past
Last week a team of professional scuba divers surveyed marine life at two sites in the Bristol Channel off Porlock Weir in Somerset to obtain just such high quality data.
The sites were a boulder reef north of Gore point and a sand and shell plain in the centre of Porlock bay. The divers assessed the habitats, videoed their dives and took many stills images and small samples to help identify the species living there.
This is the first time that the sub tidal marine life of this area has been surveyed in over 30 years. This is mainly because there is no local diving infrastructure; the very large tidal range (12m+), strong currents, murky Severn outflow water and very limited boat launch options don’t make this a popular location for diving.
Despite the technical difficulties in getting to these dive sites the divers were excied to find two different and very diverse sea bed habitats. They recorded dense coverings of bryozoans and hydroids on the sand and boulders with numerous branching and hedgehog sponges, rare stalked jellyfish, bunches of cuttlefish and squid eggs, squat lobsters hiding in crevices, many crab and fish species and brittle and sunstar starfish.
The samples taken have been analysed microscopically and the creatures identified to species where possible, as has the life captured in the photographs and video. Together these provide an extensive species list for each site. A report is being written which will describe the habitats both physically and biologically and include photographs of many of the creatures and algae found.
This survey, funded by The Wildlife Trusts, complements the extensive intertidal, seashore, marine mammal and birdlife records collected by the Somerset Wildlife Trust members, volunteers and staff. This now provides a more complete picture of the fantastically diverse marine environment of the North Somerset coast that has been somewhat underappreciated in the past.
The wealth of evidence provided by exploratory dive surveys like this in areas where there is little or no habitat or seabed data will ensure that we have the evidence to argue for their conservation so they are not neglected in future discussions over marine protection and conservation measures.
Dominic Flint (pictured, right) is a marine biologist, HSE qualified commercial diver and PADI diver trainer with a life-long enthusiasm for conservation and the sea. He has extensive knowledge of UK marine life gathered from over 30 years as a scuba diver and regular participation in the Seasearch dive survey programme. Dominic has worked on marine conservation issues and sustainable fisheries in the Far East, the seas around Antarctica and the UK. He now works on, and organises, marine habitat diving surveys around the UK coast.
You can read more about the recent survey here.
Image credit: Long clawed squat lobster Munida rugosa cpt Kat Brown
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