CORNWALL WILDLIFE TRUST

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CORNWALL WILDLIFE TRUST SEASEARCH

• Joana Doyle
• Marine Conservation Officer
• Cornwall Wildlife Trust

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Outline

• What is Seasearch?
• Objectives
• How the project works in Cornwall
• Results
• Achievements
• Difficulties overcoming them

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What is Seasearch?

• Volunteer diving project
• Increase knowledge of marine environment around
  the UK
• Contribute towards its conservation

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Objectives

• Gather information on UK seabed habitats and
  associated wildlife through divers
• Provide standardised training to enable SCUBA
  divers to participate in Seasearch
• Ensure the quality of data gathered
• Make available the data collected
• Raise awareness of the diversity of UK marine
  life and its environment

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How the project works

• Seasearch established in Cornwall in 2003
• Advertised to divers each year
• Newsletter sent to dive clubs, dive shops and
  operators
• Email updates sent to divers
• Local media-articles and radio
• Run Observer course training sessions on demand
• Encourage divers to record what they see and send
  in records
• Organise dives for Seasearch divers
• Use volunteers to carry out specialised surveys

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Achievements

• Number of divers trained
• 87 in 2003
• 28 in 2004
• 23 in 2005
• Number of reports received
• 183 in 2003
• 73 in 2004
• 90 in 2005

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Achievements

• Gathered information on subtidal habitats and
  species around Cornwall
• Identified locations of nationally rare species
• Pink seafan surveys
• Report to EN
• Eelgrass surveys
• Report to EA
• Maerl bed surveys
• Awareness raising

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Difficulties Overcoming these

• Waning interest
• Not sending in forms
• Regular dives through dive operator
• Organise some talks/ interesting social events
• Provide regular feedback
• Continue recruiting new members
• Lack of confidence
• Get divers in water as soon as possible after
  course

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Difficulties Overcoming these

• Varying level of diving ID skill
• Lack of surveying expertise
• Choose small group of experienced volunteers to
  participate in specific surveys
• Wreck recording forms
• Mobilising volunteers for surveys
• Carry out important surveys with a small team
  easily mobilised
• Having Babies ???

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Questions?