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Basil the recued seal pup has now been nursed back to health by the dedicated Animal Care Team Staff at the Gweek National Seal Sanctuary.and has over tripled his weight.  Alongside the staff and other BDMLR Marine Mammal Medics…we watch  the exciting moment of the seal’s  release back into the wild to try their chances again to survive against the odds. Basil’s big moment is about to begin…..the seals dash down to the sea but Basil is unsure and hides under the National Seal Sanctuary Jeep.Basil spots something interesting in the shallows.Another released seal pup waits in the shallows and looks back at Basil….enticing him to join her.The other seal is eventually enough to lure him out to sea 

Who could blame the little seal pup with icicles hanging from the cliffs on the beach…but the draw of the beautiful shimmering blue water of North Cornwall’s Atlantic Ocean eventually attracts Basil to take the final plunge.

Basil finally heads out to sea!…

For more of what we do during the winter please read on…The above pic is of a seal Chris , Kate, Kate’s mum and I rescued earlier this winter season. He was named “Basil Fawlty “by the Animal Care Team Staff at Gweek National Seal Sanctuary who have done a superb job of caring for him. He was called this because of his enormous swollen head( faulty head)  he had from head injuries he received perhaps from rough seas and rocks or possible bite injury. Click here to see how he is progressing and hear more of his story…

Chris and I are both British Divers Marine Life Rescue Marine Mammal Medics and throughout the year but particuarly in the Winter season (which is Grey Seal Pupping time) we are on call as volunteers ,alongside a whole team of superb medics in the Cornwall area to attend Marine Mammal rescues. Here follows one day in our diary ….On a freezing cold day in January on a windy beach a lone seal pup hauls out at the high tide line and lies exhausted and dehydrated …too tired to make it back to the sea. He is now vulnerable to dog attack and major disturbance…Fortunately a member of the public call British Divers Marine Life Rescue and describe the state of the pup then wait for medics to arrive., keeping themselves and dogs back out of the way so they do not scare the pup. Philip and Lewis, 2 new recruits ,arrive first, amid a heavy shower of hail stones and assess the seal’s condition. Phillip takes the sharp end whist we take his temperature and assess his wounds. Dave Jarvis our senior medic indicates the seal needs treatment. We very carefully place the seal into a specially designed BDMLR seal bag being careful not to get bitten and carry him back across the beach.(NB..NEVER attempt to rescue a seal yourselves this could be very dangerous for both you and the seal…please follow the BDMLR advice:

please click for link…… http://www.bdmlr.org.uk/index.php?page=stranded-animals

to call BDMLR:  BDMLR hotline: 01825 765546 (office hours) or 07787 433412 (out of hours)

Once safely removed from beach the seal pup is made more comfortable in a larger transportation box , so he doesn’t overheat. Lewis and Phillip British Divers Marine Life  Rescue Marine Mammal Medics check he is fit for travel . Then off to meet the vet….

After a long arduous journey back from the vet …the little grey seal pup Phillip Phollop flops down into the sea, stops to rest for a minute, then disappears back into his own watery environment!

Bye Bye little seal …good luck!!

To watch the Soup Fin Shark in its natural environment…see below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QJ_S-z5M5PA

The first Basking Shark was sighted about 8 miles off Newquay this week, spotted by Daniel ..a Commercial Potter ( with thanks) feeding open mouthed at the surface. Other sightings have also been coming in as 1 in falmouth, 2 off Porth Kerris, 1 off Landsend and 2 in Lundy..the warmer weather has helped the Zooplankton to rise ,so the harmless plankton feeding sharks are feeding at surface. Today a happy angler also caught a very large Tope , weighing in at 22lbs and 1.8m in length. The male shark circled around the boat and entangled the anglers' lines, reminiscent of a scene from "Jaws", before being brought onboard "Atlantic Diver" to be measured and recorded for the Shark Trust and Substance. It was then very carefully released…keeping these sharks in a horizontal position helps to protect the soft internal organs so that a successfull release is possible. These sharks are known as the "Soup Fin" shark and don't eat people but instead eat fish, crustacean,endinderms and worms. They are usually bottom feeders. Our fishing and sea safaris are running daily aboard our two top, large catamarans. Mackerel are coming in well today.

Unbelievably adrenaline rushing viewing during a shark cage dive with the  best cage diving company in the UK. Eleven shark divers set off from Newquay Harbour yesterday onbaord "Atlantic Diver" to do one of the" top 10 things to do in Newquay" or even the UK. Doubters of the thrill of UK cage diving should feast their eyes on this footage as we experienced 4 Blue sharks, all female ranging from sizes…2.5m, 3m 3.5m and  2m.

Excited Shark Divers met at our "Newquay Marine Centre" overlooking the Harbour, to learn about the plight, biology and behaviour of the blue sharks which only feed in our British Sea when the water temperature is 12 degrees plus. 

We Sped 10 miles out to sea ,Aboard "Atlantic Diver" and set up the chum to attract the sharks to the cage.

After a two and a half hour wait…they appeared…thrashing around the chum …two female Blue Sharks . They gradually grew in confidence and made repeated drives passed the (by now adrenalined) Shark Divers!!!

Another Shark rolled up , then another ….shark Fest!!!

you tube video here

All in all we enjoyed watching their amazing hunting and reasoning skills as they swam around the cage, chum bags and boat. All on board were totally blown away by their beauty, grace and stealth. These iconic creatures are being taken in their millions for their fins and meat…a top predator rapidly declining. The Uk has catch limits for many of our sharks but this is not the case in Europe, as a Shark Trust Trustee I am in support of TACs for europe as is applies here in the uk, which our  fishermen adhere to. 

Tourists in Newquay would never be treated to such an amazing spetacular display of nature as the blue sharks forage far offshore away from bathers and they are only accessable by boat. Historically these sharks were in plentiful supply and indeed we did used to angle for them but  today we prefer to view them and encourage others to take care of our ocean and top predators by educating visiting wildlife tourists, as well as locals. 

To Book These Cage Dives…please call Skipper Chris or Annabelle Lowe on 

07860 927833

01637 850930

Unbelievably awesome Common Dolphin activity this week as we were recording cetacean for Whales and Dolphin Watching Week. We came across no fewer than six pods of Common Dolphins on one day alone , let alone Bottlenose Dolphins on two consecutive days complete with juveniles and Harbour porpoise. It was a great week until the british weather moved in but out there again today. 

The dolphins were feeding on sand eels which were in turn feeding on phytoplankton which was trapped at the sea surface. The Dolphins were coraling the shoals up tightly at the surface by porpoising closely together …gathering the shoal , whilst others under the shoal blew air bubbles upwards to keep the fish from swimming down. Then annnd here come sthe amazing part ….the dolphins now having trapped the sand eels ata the surface Hydro Planed , beaks open wide and scooped the eels up in lines of ridgid backed sinchronised rows of dolphins. The spalsh they created doing this was phenominal.

We sat and watched at a distance for ages as they fed in a huge area around us. 

Couldn’t resist posting this picture of Grey Seal called “Feathers/Shrek” eating a conger eel in Newquay Harbour today

Going!

Going!

Gone!!

Gone…totally content seal….got to just love these gorgeous seals…it was like watching somebody eating noodles.

 In the backround the Newquay Fish Festival setting up is well underway.All starts down here on Friday 11th-13th…trips running as usual from our shark’s head booking kiosk..come on down and enjoy the fun.

We shall be helping at the Newquay Marine Group stand on the Beach.

there is an awesome program of fish and famous chefs, fishing talks, old newquay, food stalls….BOAT TRIPS and lots of Cornish Fishing Fun.

……….See You There!!  

Shark Enthusiasts aboard Atlanticc Diver were treated to a rare sighting of a  2m  Leatherback Turtle, which swam alongside us for some 4 minutes, so we had a really good look. Its Carapace has long ridges down its back which helps identify it as a LBT which feed along the southwest coastline along warm fronts brought about by the Gulf Stream. We could see Blue Jellyfish and Comb Jellies floating passed the Shark Cage so we imagined the Turtle was feeding lower down in the water column on jellyfish, its usual diet. It resurfaced several times for breaths before returning again to activities down below the boat…we were SOOO lucky!!!

All sightings should be sent to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust on the following link;

http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/NR/exeres/3A054313-937D-4C20-BD9B-EF7176B7676B

To learn more about LBT please click on the link below:

http://www.mcsuk.org/conservation_in_action/Marine%20turtles/Turtles%20in%20the%20UK/Turtles%20in%20the%20UK

Ever wondered what a Skipper buys his wife for her birthday!!!! Chris found this rum cask in need of renovation and fixed it up ,adding some original Rum Tub Brass Letters ….Hic…rum was lovely!

"Up Spirits" was between 11am and midday when 70mls of rum ration were given to the crew onboard the old ships….wonder if skipper will be dishing out the rum to leyla and I this summer???

One of the most amazing life time experiences began  Saturday 27^th of August which was the start of the National Whale and Dolphin week where our crew  at Newquay Sea Safaris and Fishing were recording all of the huge variety of our fantastic Marine Wildlife we were seeing here during our sea safaris and diving trips off the Newquay Coast  and sending them in ,to add to a huge uk data base. Dave Jarvis..Area Manager for British Divers Marine Life Rescue contacted us to say there were approximately 100 Dolphins moving up from St Ives in a Newquay direction. It was thought they may be a superpod of Bottlenose Dolphins which would have been incredible as we only have a Celtic inshore population of 30 on the fin photo ID Database. We as a Master WISE ( wildlife safe) dedicated boat and Marine Mammal Medics were tasked to establish the identity of the pod. Atlantic Diver our 10m catamaran had gone aground after a busy day’s wildlife watching, so we called Dan Murphy who was conducting a Seawatch at St Agnes Head for “Seaquest Southwest” ..a project run by Cornwall Wildlife Trust whereby volunteers record an effort based survey of Marine Wildlife from dedicated cliff top points on certain Sundays throughout the year, in an effort to establish wildlife hotspots which could aid conservation measures in the near future. Dan said he could see at least 100 Common Dolphins and also about 11 Bottlenose dolphins from their position and they were heading toward us…..eagerly as the boat floated we stealtherly made our way out of Newquay Harbour with a few friends and family on board. Carefully we made our way out passed the Headland and began spotting for that iconic sight of a fin breaking the water’s surface. The light was fading and the sea looked flat and dark against the heavy skyline, then suddenly there was a splash to our port side followed by a dolphin porpoising out of the water and leaping head first back down, followed by another surfacing with a hugely tall eerily pale Fin…oh my God….Risso’s Dolphins.!!!!

Watchers on board were ecstatic, this is indeed a rare sighting for us off Newquay and I have only ever seen one before at a stranding  on Perranporth beach that we successfully rescued in May2012. Chris Lowe my hubbie and skipper cut the engines and we floated quietly on the sea and feasted our eyes in a hushed silence in awe of the spectacular hunting and feeding of at least 7 Risso’s Dolphins which surface about every 5-6 minutes with their beakless heads turning on the side on the odd occasion to glance a look back up at us. Usually a boat shy Dolphin they came ever closer as they worked their way through a planktonic slick. Their colours varried throughout the pod from three smaller ,ghostly pale, white coloured younger dolphins which we could see through the incredibly clear water as they swam beneath the waves to larger very dark grey , almost black larger dolphins with deep white scars through their dorsel fins and bulbous heads. Goosebumps prickled up on my arms as we enjoyed the rare spectacle and pronounced ourselves the luckiest ***** ever!!!! As the night drew in darker we made back for port  feeling full of uplifting joy and leaving this rare and beautiful pod to continue its nightime feeding .

We are sharing the data of these sightings with other  Marine Wildlife Boats via a new group that has been set up this year called “Cornwall Marine Life Boat Operators” which at present is a collaboration of five founder members of Cornish Wildlife Boats spread around the beautiful Coastline…Marine Discovery, Newquay Sea Safaris and Fishing , Orca Sea Safaris, Padstow Sealife Safaris and Charles Hood and also other active Marinelife Group leaders. The aim is as “Marine Champions” to premote watching wildlife without causing disturbance and to share our data for the benefit of future conservation and research accessibility for other academics , whilst educating members of the public about these wonderful creatures in the hope that as a collective we lead by example and ulitimately encourage others to safeguard our oceans and protect the habitat that the Flora and Fauna need to survive. By  watching our wildlife safely we are ensuring that they  are there for future generations to enjoy.

 Our Sea Safaris will be running daily throughout the next few months, to book please call 07582 466122.

….what a wonderful place Newquay is!!

“Atlantic Diver” was out Trolling for plankton today with Newquay Marine Group. The group enjoyed sunshine and blue skies today and examed the samples at Cornwall Marine College labs. 

There were multiple samples of Copepods, the Basking Sharks favourite’s Zoo plankton, Jellyfish, Crab Larvae, Arrow Worms, Barnacle Moults, Sea Squirt, multiple Phytoplankton. 

The Basking Sharks are on their way.