Wildlife News for March
Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 11:49 am
New video shows a glimpse of what lies beneath in the Irish Sea
A glimpse of the amazing variety of life under the Irish Sea has been captured by the North West Wildlife Trusts, as the public are asked for their views on the future of our seas.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust has joined forces with Lancashire and Cumbria Wildlife Trusts to produce a video and a song, which will inspire all of those who know and love the sea off the North West coast.
And the Trusts are hoping that the Flat Fish song by Cumbrian group The Wierdstring Band, accompanying the video, will remind people of the happy times they had by the seaside as well as the vital importance of the Irish Sea to wildlife. Andrew Walter, fiddler with The Wierdstring Band is a Reserves Officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust and was inspired to write the song to encourage people to respond to the Government’s public consultation.
However, the Government is watering down pleas from The Wildlife Trusts to create 127 Marine Conservation Zones in the seas around the United Kingdom; instead they have agreed to look at just 31 zones. This figure includes just four of a proposed 19 in the Irish Sea, including the Hilbre Island Group in the Dee estuary.
Click here to view the video on Youtube
Now the Trusts are calling on everyone in the region to produce a tidal wave of emails support the designation of the 31 national zones and to seriously consider designating all the remaining sites as soon as possible to produce a network of Marine Conservation Zones where vital wildlife will be protected.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust's Charlotte Harris said: “There are many scientific arguments why these areas must be designated as Marine Conservation Zones, not least to protect the numbers of fish and other wildlife in the Irish Sea. So far, we have only seen Hilbre Island proposed for designation in 2013.
“However we also want people to tell the Government why they love the Irish Sea, even if it’s simply that they have been on a day out by the seaside on the Wirral. We must protect the wildlife in the Irish Sea and help it to grow for future generations to appreciate.
“We hope our new video will draw attention to some of the variety of wildlife living just beyond our sandy toes when we're on the beach, and to ask people to support the Trusts as we try to protect it."
At least 30 species of shark pass through the Irish Sea, including the basking shark, the world's second largest fish. Others species include thresher, blue, mako and porbeagle sharks. Beneath the surface of the Irish Sea are many diverse habitats including seagrass beds, rocky reefs, mud flats that are home to sea urchins, Dublin Bay prawns and brittlestars, and honeycomb reefs made up of living worms.
About a dozen species of whale, dolphin and porpoise have been recorded in the Irish Sea. The most commonly seen are the harbour porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin and the minke whale.
Leatherback turtles visit the Irish Sea each summer as they pursue swarms of jellyfish, the turtle's staple diet.
Article re-posted from Cheshire Wildlife Trust
More information:
The Friends of Hilbre Island
Liverpool Bay Marine Recording Partnership
A glimpse of the amazing variety of life under the Irish Sea has been captured by the North West Wildlife Trusts, as the public are asked for their views on the future of our seas.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust has joined forces with Lancashire and Cumbria Wildlife Trusts to produce a video and a song, which will inspire all of those who know and love the sea off the North West coast.
And the Trusts are hoping that the Flat Fish song by Cumbrian group The Wierdstring Band, accompanying the video, will remind people of the happy times they had by the seaside as well as the vital importance of the Irish Sea to wildlife. Andrew Walter, fiddler with The Wierdstring Band is a Reserves Officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust and was inspired to write the song to encourage people to respond to the Government’s public consultation.
However, the Government is watering down pleas from The Wildlife Trusts to create 127 Marine Conservation Zones in the seas around the United Kingdom; instead they have agreed to look at just 31 zones. This figure includes just four of a proposed 19 in the Irish Sea, including the Hilbre Island Group in the Dee estuary.
Click here to view the video on Youtube
Now the Trusts are calling on everyone in the region to produce a tidal wave of emails support the designation of the 31 national zones and to seriously consider designating all the remaining sites as soon as possible to produce a network of Marine Conservation Zones where vital wildlife will be protected.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust's Charlotte Harris said: “There are many scientific arguments why these areas must be designated as Marine Conservation Zones, not least to protect the numbers of fish and other wildlife in the Irish Sea. So far, we have only seen Hilbre Island proposed for designation in 2013.
“However we also want people to tell the Government why they love the Irish Sea, even if it’s simply that they have been on a day out by the seaside on the Wirral. We must protect the wildlife in the Irish Sea and help it to grow for future generations to appreciate.
“We hope our new video will draw attention to some of the variety of wildlife living just beyond our sandy toes when we're on the beach, and to ask people to support the Trusts as we try to protect it."
At least 30 species of shark pass through the Irish Sea, including the basking shark, the world's second largest fish. Others species include thresher, blue, mako and porbeagle sharks. Beneath the surface of the Irish Sea are many diverse habitats including seagrass beds, rocky reefs, mud flats that are home to sea urchins, Dublin Bay prawns and brittlestars, and honeycomb reefs made up of living worms.
About a dozen species of whale, dolphin and porpoise have been recorded in the Irish Sea. The most commonly seen are the harbour porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin and the minke whale.
Leatherback turtles visit the Irish Sea each summer as they pursue swarms of jellyfish, the turtle's staple diet.
Article re-posted from Cheshire Wildlife Trust
More information:
The Friends of Hilbre Island
Liverpool Bay Marine Recording Partnership