Marine Life & Conservation
Look, don’t touch! Staycation tips to safeguard the UK’s amazing marine life
The Marine Conservation Society provides some guidance on how to travel the UK responsibly this summer
As lockdown restrictions begin to ease further and more people are looking to the UK’s coastline for a staycation this summer, it’s important to be a responsible holidaymaker, even when staying close to home. The Marine Conservation Society is urging staycationers to be respectful and responsible when enjoying the UK’s beautiful beaches.
With reports of increasing volumes of litter across the country’s outdoor spaces and wildlife encounters gone wrong, the charity’s experts offer some top tips on how to ensure that a visit to the seaside this summer is good for visitors, animals and the environment alike.
Rather than piling up rubbish next to bins which may be blown onto the beach, with plastic polluting the ocean and endangering wildlife, the Marine Conservation Society is calling on beachgoers to #KeepItClean and take their litter home. But it’s not just litter of concern to the charity, an increase in visitors not knowing how best to interact with wildlife is disturbing marine animals.
Emily Cunningham, Marine Biologist and Trustee of the Marine Conservation Society said: “Seeing marine wildlife is an amazing experience, but it’s up to us to make sure our enjoyment doesn’t cause the animals harm or stress.”
“This is especially important at this time of year, when many of our British marine creatures are pregnant, rearing chicks or nursing their babies. As restrictions lift and many of us head to the coast, please make sure to give our wildlife the extra space they need to raise their young.”
Top tips to be a responsible beachgoer:
- Do Not Disturb: If you’re snorkelling or diving and come across animals like seahorses, watch from a distance and swim calmly away. Male seahorses are pregnant at this time of year so it’s extra important not to disturb them
- Keep dogs on leads: Beach nesting birds lay their eggs directly onto sand or shingle. These are very well camouflaged and at risk of disturbance from beach visitors and dogs. Be sure not to touch or move the eggs and keep a safe distance
- Keep your distance: Whales, dolphins and porpoise are large, unpredictable animals; getting too close is not only distressing for them, but could easily cause harm. It is illegal to touch, feed or swim with whales, dolphins or porpoise
- Look, don’t touch: Grey and common seals are found around the UK. They give birth in the summer and mothers will be suckling their pups on land – it is important to give them extra space, whether on foot or at sea. All year round, seals haul out onto shore to rest or digest their food and should be left alone. Never chase a seal back into the sea
- Keep quiet and carry on: While at sea stay at least 100m away from any animals, avoiding groups or mothers and young completely. Engines should be switched to neutral if animals are close. Stay alert, boat skippers have been prosecuted in England for reckless disturbance of dolphins
Throughout July the Marine Conservation Society, sponsored by new plastic-free toilet paper Oceans, is also asking people to set their own Plastic Challenge in a bid to reduce our consumption of disposable plastic items. For holidaymakers, this could be as simple as making one small switch to your daily beach visit and taking a reusable water bottle with you, or packing a picnic in reusable containers. Taking reusable containers to the beach will make a huge impact on reducing the increasing volumes of litter seen on the UK’s beautiful beaches in the form of plastic cups, takeaway boxes and more.
For more information on how to be a responsible beachgoer, please visit the Marine Conservation Society’s website. If you spot a jellyfish, basking shark or even a turtle off the UK’s shores, be sure to share it via the sightings page on the website.
After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.
People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.
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- Bigeye Thresher Shark by Janina Rossiter
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- Carcharodon carcharias by Jimmy Higgs
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- Croc VR 2030 by Tom Mead
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- Oceanic Whitetip by ATM
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- Silky Street by ScapaJoe
The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.
One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.
Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:
https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24
Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.
Find out more here:
https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31
Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”
Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden
Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.
Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.
On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.
Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.
Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.
Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”
The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.
To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.
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