Marine Biology Review - Autumn 2008

The Section has had a busy summer even if the weather has not been conducive to observing and recording local marine life. One notable exception was the amount of sunfish Mola mola reported which was followed with the appearance of a large number of jellyfish the main diet of the fish. The Latin name Mola translates to millstone which the fish resembles. Dolphin sightings have been varied with a lack of sightings on the north coast but more and slightly larger groups than in recent years around the east coast and offshore reefs. Grey seal numbers have been stable with an increasing number of coastal observations, and several juveniles observed at Les Ecréhous. Work is ongoing in improving a local reporting system and the exchange of data with French and English colleagues. The Chairman recently paid a brief visit to the Cornish Seal Group and was given a tour of the rugged north coast where the seals take shelter.

The waters around the island suffered from a cloudy visibility known as turbidity, the rumour mills on its cause were rife here and especially in Guernsey. It is proving difficult to pinpoint the exact cause but the storm in March was certainly a contributing factor and consultation with local weather experts and the French research institution IFREMER led us to suggest that the March storm surge had flushed out fine sediment inland from the adjacent low lying marsh land, access to French satellite imagery appeared to confirm these conclusions but not enough to quell the rumours! The Section predicted that the turbidity would cause feeding problems for local marine birds and this was confirmed in April when a number of shags were found dead at Les Minquiers, and the species was to have a very poor nesting season on the North coast. The extreme weather may have also have contributed to the mass mortality of farmed seedling oysters in France.

Concerns were again raised about human disturbance to local marine life and in June the inevitable abandonment of nesting Common terns at Les Ecrehous for the second year in a row. In July the issue of disturbance to wildlife by charter operators was raised again, and considering that the weather had kept visitor numbers down, we would have hoped that suitable safeguards and precautionary measures would have been in place and working by now, but there would appear to be a great deal more that needs to be done, if the wildlife is to be allowed to return to normality at the reef.

The Section lobbied the States on an amendment to the fisheries law in respect of nets and in doing so the issue was taken up by the Scrutiny Panel, and the Chairman was called to give evidence and raised a number of issues about the impact on the marine environment that nets generally were having and called for the implementation of "No Take Zones" which are proving to be a successful tool in marine conservation, eco-tourism, and maintaining sustainable commercial fish stocks. The authorities have offered the "Coastal Zone Strategy" as a solution and the document has been published and it is hoped that it will be debated in the States in October. Following on from this the Section has been offered a place on the Fisheries Panel whose members have previously attended Section meetings keeping us informed and involved with fishery matters.

The Section continues to be consulted on a wide variety of matters, most recently the National Trusts informative "Rockpool Rambles" booklet.

The Section meets on the first Monday of the month at 8:00pm in the Arthur Mourant Room.

Nick Jouault - Chairman