Marine Life & Conservation
Top-spotted jellyfish in UK revealed in new MCS report
To mark World Jellyfish Day on the 3rd November last week, the Marine Conservation Society released its first Wildlife Sightings report, publishing last year’s findings from its long-running citizen science project.
The project asks the public to report jellyfish and marine turtle sightings in and around the UK and Ireland’s shores. The charity collects and analyses reports of these species to identify trends in their distribution around the UK. Changes in when and where marine wildlife are spotted can help understand how the ocean is changing in response to environmental factors, like climate change.
Photo: Jonathan Smith
Between 1st October 2021 and 30th September 2022, there were a total of 1,315 jellyfish sightings reported to the Marine Conservation Society. The charity regularly records sightings of eight jellyfish species which are found around the UK and Ireland. More uncommon visitors were also spotted in our waters, with 11 species in total reported in the past year.
The compass jellyfish (pictured) was the most reported species, making up almost a quarter (23%) of total sightings. This was followed closely by moon jellyfish (also 23%), which were often seen in smacks (groups of jellyfish) of over 100.
Storms in October 2021 and February 2022 led to an increase in Portuguese Man O’ War sightings, which were up by 2% from the previous year. Although they have a bad reputation, these jellyfish-like creatures don’t normally occur in UK waters, preferring instead to drift in the open ocean.
Photo: Joanna Clegg – MCS
Sightings of these unusual visitors were primarily along the Southwest coast and the west coast of Scotland, with westerly winds carrying them across the Atlantic to our shores. Sometimes stranding at the same time was the violet sea snail, which floats on the surface in bubble rafts, feeding on Portuguese Man O’ Wars.
The charity saw an increase in ‘other’ species reported, up from 5% to 9% this year. Among these were the bioluminescent crystal jellyfish, which made up 3% of total sightings and sea gooseberries at 1% – the highest percentages reported to date.
Photo: Peter Bardsley – MCS
Tracking reports of ‘other’ species, like these, could show how changes in temperatures might be impacting jellyfish diversity in the UK.
Crystal jellyfish are usually found in the Pacific Ocean, rarely spotted in UK waters, suggesting that warmer temperatures may be impacting jellyfish diversity in the UK.
Jellyfish are especially appealing for marine turtles, which visit UK waters in the summer months to feed on them. 11 turtles were also reported, six of which were live leatherback turtles, spotted on the coast of Scotland. Leatherbacks are the largest turtle species with a diet mainly consisting of jellyfish.
Photo: Peter Bardsley – MCS
Amy Pilsbury, Citizen Science Project Lead at the Marine Conservation Society, said:
“We use these sightings, alongside scientists, to spot trends in the distribution of jellyfish and marine turtles around the UK. Investigating the relationships between species can help us to discover more about our amazing underwater world and how it might be changing in response to things like climate change. A huge thank you to everyone who reported their sightings – with more reports we’re able to understand even more about our ocean.”
The charity’s Wildlife Sightings report includes a map of all reported jellyfish and turtle sightings, a breakdown of each jellyfish species reported, a map of Portuguese Man O’ War sightings, and the number of sightings reported each month.
The Wildlife Sightings turtle data will contribute to the Turtle Implementation Group’s annual ‘British & Irish Marine Turtle Strandings Report‘, of which the Marine Conservation Society is a lead partner, which will be released in March 2023.
The Marine Conservation Society continues to run its wildlife sightings project to see what happens to the distribution and frequency of mass jellyfish blooms over time and will be celebrating its 20th year of the national jellyfish survey in 2023.
The charity is encouraging the public to continue to report any species they see, with some visiting our shores in winter months. The data will help to explore any links jellyfish blooms have with big-picture factors such as climate change. Long-term datasets, like this one, can also help predict where jellyfish blooms may occur to ease the problems large blooms cause the marine industries.
For more information on the Wildlife Sightings project including the full report and to report a jellyfish or turtle sighting, please visit the Marine Conservation Society’s website: www.mcsuk.org.
Header image: Kirsty Andrews – MCS
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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