Marine life in Cornwall

Bottlenosed dolphin Cornwall is surrounded on three sides by sea and boasts some of the richest and most diverse marine life around the United Kingdom.

Basking sharks, turtles and dolphins are regular visitors to our waters. An increasingly common visitor includes the strangely shaped Ocean Sunfish that usually arrives in early Summer on the Gulf Stream and stays in local waters until the Autumn. Atlantic Grey seals breed here using the sea caves around our coast as safe haul-outs. There are many activities going on around our shores, such as rowing, sailing, diving, snorkeling and of course, the ever popular rock pooling and beach combing.

Roger Driver, my partner, found this curious shell on Perranporth Beach in October 2000, it was instantly recognized by Paul Gainey as a particularly large example of a Spirula Spirula. It was about an inch across - apparently they rarely exceed a half inch.

Spirula spirula Its common name, little post horn, is very apt as it describes the way it coils in a single plane, without the coils touching one another. The Germans use the same name (Pösthornchen), as do the French (Cornet de Postillon). To read Stella Turks article "Spirula spirula in Cornish waters" visit the Cornwall Wildlife Trust's web site.

There are a lot of organizations in Cornwall involved in the conservation of our marine life, I have mentioned just a few of them below.

Educational interactive CD

“Secrets of the Sea – exploring Helford’s marine life”

Educational interactive CD - “Secrets of the Sea – exploring Helford’s marine life” This interactive CD contains information on the biology, geography, historical and present day use, conservation and management issues relating to the Helford Estuary.

Helford's unique marine heritage is revealed in a structured and exciting way, which appeals to all age groups, adults and children alike. As well as field identification keys for the most common species found on the Helford it has links to other sources of information and resources.

There are also animated games for younger users, striking photographs, panoramic video clips and atmospheric sound effects to enhance your experience!

Activities and information in the schools section is fully linked to the National Curriculum with special teachers notes and resources to aid learning.
For schools who can't get to the shore there are field trips students can navigate their way around a virtual estuary, identify species they find at specific 'sites' and collect data without even getting their feet wet!

Published by Helford Marine Conservation Group

Special price £6.00 each including Post and Packaging Add to BasketBuy Now

Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Turtle The Cornwall Wildlife Trust is also involved in the conservation of out marine life and run or support many marine related projects or groups.

Seaquest south-west are a specialist group of Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteers involved in the recording the larger marine creatures around our coast.

In the twelve months up to 2 May2008 all the following marine life has been recorded by the marine sightings volunteers as living around our Cornish coast:

Basking Shark, Blue Runner, Common Seal, Compass Jellyfish, Fin Whale, Goose Barnacles, Grey Seal, Humpback Whale, Leatherback Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, Minke Whale, Ocean Sunfish, Risso's Dolphin, Slipper Lobster, Thresher Shark, Triggerfish, Turtle, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin, Cyanea lamarckii, Parasitic Goose Barnacle, Whitebeaked Dolphin, Harbour Porpoise, Whale, Striped Dolphin, Buoy Barnacles, Columbus Crab, Boar Fish, Dolphin, Pilot Whale,

Ray Dennis has compiled a list of marine creatures sighted, stranded or landed in Cornwall during 2007, which he has kindly offered to let me publish on this site.

Marine creatures sighted, stranded or landed In Cornwall during 2007 - 141kb - PDF format

For more detailed records visit the Cornwall Wildlife Trust web site.

Penzance branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club

Penzance branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) Clubhouse is situated on Albert Pier in Penzance and has it's own bar.

They welcome all divers, either local or visiting, and hold regular social events, in the club and at local venues around the Mounts Bay area. The bar is open from 8.30pm for a weekly club night on Thursdays.

Ray Dennis is the Conservation Officer of the Penzance branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club, and writes a regular newsletter for the Group.

You can read the latest January issue of Ray's Conservation Officer's report by downloading it here.

You can find out more about the Penzance branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club by visiting their web site.

Helford Marine Conservation Group

Grey seal

Helford Marine Conservation Group is a voluntary organization working to safeguard the marine life of the beautiful Helford River, to increase its biological diversity and to raise awareness of its marine interest and importance.

They are currently looking for a part-time Coordinator, as Dr Pam Tompsett is going to be retiring soon. Unfortunately it is too far for me to travel, otherwise I would have applied for the job myself. More details can be found on the Helford Marine Conservation web site.

Free dolphin 2008 calendar

Download this dolphin 2008 calendar for free, it's in PDF format and is 535kb.

You can find a variety of calendars on my free 2008 calendars page.

Beautiful marine art

Original, Unique & Exclusive Art by Vanessa Rousseau Richardson. Cornwall based, South African born artist Vanessa uses mixed media, various styles, 3D textures and various themes. Her main focus is on the Ocean creating mostly 3D Images on canvas just oozing action and deep emotion. Her paintings of waves is part of the "Forces of Nature" series, and are pure WOW FACTOR! Visit her website and online shop at www.artista.cabanova.com or telephone 01208 264735.