Glaucus House, 14 Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex. BN43 6PQ.
Tel/Fax: 01273 465433
EMail: 106127.206 at CompuServe.com
TORPEDO No. 8 February 1997
BMLSS (Scotland)
URL = http://www.ed.ac.uk/~evah01/bmlss.htm
Secondary Site: BMLSS (England)
URL = http://ourworld.compuserve.com/BMLSS/
For details of how to join the BMLSS, please contact the above address, or the World
Wide Web site at Scotland which will include some sample articles which can be
downloaded to your computer. The copyright of each article remains with the writer
of each article and reproduction is not permitted without express permission.
The British Marine Life Study Society was formed in June 1990 and the first issue of
Glaucus was published in September 1990.
Web Site Files
BMLSS (Scotland) Homepage: URL= http://www.ed.ac.uk/~evah01/bmlss.htm
Shorewatch: URL= http://www.ed.ac.uk/~evah01/shore.htm
Why do crabs walk sideways: URL = http://www.ed.ac.uk/~evah01/crabs.htm
Rare Fish: URL= http://www2.tcd.ie/People/Bernard.Picton/Rare_Fish
BMLSS (England) Homepage:
URL= http://ourworld.compuserve.com/BMLSS/homepage.htm
Latest News/Wildlife Reports:URL = http://ourworld.compuserve.com/BMLSS/news.htm
BMLSS Services:URL = http://ourworld.compuserve.com/BMLSS/services.htm
Hot Links Home page:URL = http://ourworld.compuserve.com/BMLSS/links.htm
TORPEDO
Electronic News Service
NEWS SNIPPETS
Over 200 oiled birds have been washed up on the shores of Sussex from
10 February 1997. Most of these were washed up around Selsey Bill but oiled
birds were washed up as far east as Hastings. The oil was identified as heavy
fuel oil, probably from a merchant ship flushing its tanks under cover of bad
weather. Most victims were diving birds like Guillemots.
There have been several records of the Short-nosed Sea Horse, Hippocampus
hippocampus, from around the Channel Islands. The last specimen was landed
on 1 February 1997 by a Guernsey crabber. All records come from depths of
over 30 metres. Captures come from a wide area and include a specimen
caught by Alderney fisherman Pierre Dupont which was returned alive. More
information is held and this will be published in Glaucus.
An oil slick of about 2,000 gallons was washed ashore at East Looe beach and
Millendreath Cove and seriously polluted the shore with a large mortality of
limpets. This was first noticed by John Makeham on the 25th January 1997.
Hannafore Beach at West Looe is not seriously affected although there are
globules of oil on the strandline. A one eyed Grey Seal continues to visit Looe
during the early months of the year.
26 dolphins and porpoises were found washed up dead on the shores of
Cornwall during January 1997. Many of these cetaceans showed signs of being
injured by fishing nets. It is not thought that they were caught by Cornish
inshore fishermen, but may have been inadvertently caught by large trawlers
much further out to sea. One specimen, identified as a Common Dolphin, was
washed up at Looe on the 20th.
A Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis, was trapped in Emsworth Harbour,
West Sussex on 10 January 1997. Andy Williams of the Southern Marine Life
Rescue and a representative of the RSPB arrived to decide if the dolphin would
need help, or whether it would be able to make its way back out to sea. The
dolphin was swimming around in circles and appeared ill or injured. On
Saturday 11 January 1997, the dolphin was rescued but died immediately after
being captured. This species is seen in the summer months off the Dorset coast
but is uncommon as far east as Sussex.
MISCELLANEOUS
Alan Knight is interested in all records of the Sturgeon, Acipenser sturio, in the
seas and rivers from around the British Isles, from local knowledge, newspaper
cuttings, Victorian records from Local History volumes and local angling
sources. The original plan was to an ambitious one to reintroduce the Sturgeon
into suitable rivers. However, it is not known yet if the Sturgeon was ever a
regular breeding species, and whether the conditions are now suitable.
Alan Knight can be contacted at: 11 Cleeve Lawns, Downend, Bristol, BS16
6HH.
Tel: 0117 956 8841, EMail: coastguards at msn.com
The SOAEFD Report on the Beaufort's Dyke Explosives Disposal Site is
available from the Scottish Office, Tel: 01224 876544.
DOMMIC
DOMMIC is a project to map the marine molluscs in the English Channel/La
Manche promoted by the Conchological Society. If you want further details or
feel that you can contribute in any way, please contact: Mrs Jan Light, 88
Peperharow Road, Godalming, GU7 2PN. Tel: 01483 417782.
SEASEARCH
Seasearch (Sussex) is the scheme to record the sublittoral habitats of the Sussex
coast. The participants are divers interested in marine life. It is organised by
English Nature (Joint Nature Conservation Committee) and co-ordinated by
Robert Irving. For further information contact:
Robert Irving, 14 Brookland Way, Coldwaltham, Pulborough, Sussex, RH20
1LT.
Tel: 01798 873581 or David Harvey, English Nature (Sussex & Surrey) Tel:
01273 476595.
SHOREWATCH
The first newsletter is expected to be sent to BMLSS members in February
1997.
BOOK REVIEWS
A Student's Guide to the Seashore
by J.D. Fish & S. Fish
Cambridge University Press
[2nd edition] 1996.
ISBN 0-521-46819-1 (pb) 0 521 46279 7 (hc)
Recommended Price: £19.95 (pb) £55.00 (hc).
This is an information-packed volume for the serious student of the seashore
and contains 564 large pages of information about the small seashore life: the
algae (seaweeds), lichens, invertebrates and fish that can be found between the
tides. The great merit of this book that it goes into considerable detail about the
individual species including aspects of their behaviour, longevity and
distribution around the British coast.
The book is illustrated with excellent line drawings of every species featured.
It is not quite a comprehensive identification guide because although it deals
with a vast range of life likely to be found between the tides, a few of the
uncommon species have been omitted.
The book does not go as far as to include the flowering plants above the high
tide or mark or the birds and mammals of shore and sea. There is an extensive
bibliography and a useful glossary.
The Book of Dolphins
by Mark Carwardine
Dragon's World 1996
ISBN 1-85028-338-9
Price £18.99
Amongst the surfeit of books about dolphins, this coffee table sized book (160
larger than A4 sized pages) ranks amongst the best.
The back cover text describes the book as 'a celebration of these wonderful
mammals'. The mammals included are all the cetaceans in the family
Delphinidae, which includes the Killer Whales and a few of the larger dolphins
which are called whales, but excludes porpoises in the family Phocoenidae, and
all the larger whales in the other families.
It is particularly good because the text is written in a lilting style - it reminds
me of a dolphin porpoising near the surface - which is very easy to read like a
novel. Now, well written books can often hide insufficient research, but it is not
the case with this book. Just about everything known about the dolphins in the
oceans and rivers of the world is included. It is written for the layman who may
not know the basics of evolution and life in the sea. However, this does not
make it too simple for the experienced biologist. It is clear that the writer has
considerable (15 years) first hand experience of dolphins.
The book is illustrated with large colour photographs throughout.
Torpedo compiled by Andy Horton.