ANNUAL REPORT 2016 This report summarises Seasearch activities throughout Britain and Ireland in 2016. It includes a summary of the main surveys undertaken (pages 2-5), reports produced and a summary of the data collected. This includes records of Priority habitats and species, locally important features and nationally scarce and rare species (pages 6-9) and habitats (pages 9- 11). It also includes a summary of the training courses run for volunteer divers (page 12) and information on how Seasearch is organised and the data is managed and made available (page 13). All of the reports referred to may be downloaded from the Seasearch website and the species data may be accessed through the National Biodiversity Network website. More detailed datasets are available on request. Seasearch Surveys 2016 Seasearch continued to target much of its survey activity in existing and proposed marine protected areas. In England 23 new Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) were designated in January 2016, making a total of 50; four Northern Ireland MCZs, including the site at Waterfoot Bay proposed by Seasearch, were designated in December 2016. The following pages summarise the main surveys undertaken in 2016. They were arranged by Seasearch Coordinators and other volunteers; we would like to thank all of the organisations who supported survey activity at a local level. In addition to the surveys outlined here there were many other dives both organised by Seasearch coordinators and undertaken by individual divers. The map shows the location of all the 2016 dives. Data from all of the surveys has been entered into the Marine Recorder database and can be freely accessed on the National Biodiversity Network website www.nbn.org.uk. In addition to this, there are separate datasets for crawfish and pink sea fan survey forms. In some cases Summary Reports (denoted ®) can be downloaded from the Seasearch website. Seasearch is co-ordinated by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) on behalf of the Seasearch Supporters which comprise the Marine Conservation Society, Wildlife Trusts, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage, Department of the Environment Northern Ireland, Environment Agency, Marine Biological Association, Nautical Archaeological Society, British Sub Aqua Club, Sub Aqua Association, Professional Association of Diving Instructors, Scottish Sub Aqua Club and Irish Underwater Council. Financial support in 2016 at a national level was given by the partners on the right in addition to the MCS. Seasearch is coordinated and delivered locally in England by Wildlife Trust and MCS coordinators, in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey and the Isle of Man by MCS coordinators and in the Republic of Ireland by the Irish Underwater Council/Comhairle Fo-Thuinn. 1 SCOTLAND ® WALES ® 1 Orkney: a liveaboard survey was organised with a 8 North & West Anglesey: Unfortunately in 2016 the focus on priority marine habitats including flame shell, weather scuppered plans to dive North Anglesey as an Limaria hians, beds and maerl, targeting the less-dived organised Seasearch event, so attentions were focused areas of Scapa Flow including a pinnacle off Auskerry. on gap filling wherever possible off West Anglesey. Dives were carried out at four unusual and interesting 2 South Skye: surveys in Lochs Slapin, Eishort and sites lacking previous records. Skavaig were carried out in collaboration with the local South Skye Sealochs Initiative group who wanted 9 South Anglesey (Menai Strait & Conwy Bay SAC): As a baseline data for an area potentially under threat from reliable fallback in case of bad weather (very necessary fish farm applications. in 2016), many of the sites in this area are deemed high priority such as searches for mixed muddy sediments, 3 Argyll: ongoing monitoring of priority marine revisiting MNCR survey sites to confirm biotopes and features, confirming the presence of fireworks searches for strange features within the Strait that have anemones (Pachycerianthus multiplicatus, shown up on recent multibeam surveys. A highlight of photographed with UV light by James Lynott, below) in the year in North Wales were muddy gravels, Loch Shira, flapper skate surveys Sounds of Mull and particularly the unusual biotope Sabella pavonina with Jura, large areas of horse mussels (Modiolus modiolus) sponges and anemones on infralittoral mixed sediment at Greenock in the Clyde and regeneration of serpulid (SS.SMx.IMx.SpavSpAn, where Sabella pavonina was reefs in Lochs Creran and Tarbert. abundant and characterising) at three separate sites. These are important Annex 1 habitats within the SAC. 10 Llyn Peninsula (Pen Llŷn a'r Sarnau SAC): Criccieth, a beachside resort on the South Llyn peninsula, fringing the northern end of Tremadog Bay, was the focus of the North Wales observer training event in order to confirm the presence of the sparse subtidal seagrass bed, Zostera marina, which has previously been surveyed by Seasearch during boat surveys. Sabellaria alveolata, the honeycomb reef forming worm, was recorded on intertidal boulders here. This species is known to form Annex 1 notifiable reefs at the other end of the beach. James Lynott 4 Loch Sunart East Càrna site: Within a small bay to the 11 South Pembrokeshire: Three sites in South east of Càrna all three types of sea pen, Funiculina Pembrokeshire were dived in 2016, with the highlight quadrangularis, Virgularia mirabilis and Pennatula being the first UK record of flatworm Prosthecereus phosphorea were recorded as well as fireworks roseus (below) at Crow Rock, an islet just off Linney anemones and Modiolus modiolus. Head. 5 West Loch Tarbert: Seasearch divers found relict serpulid reefs and native oysters. The reefs had obviously been dead for some years but there must have been living reefs in West Loch Tarbert in the 1980s. 6 Sound of Jura: New locations for fireworks anemones and the northern seafan Swiftia pallida were recorded during this survey. 7 Staffa Archipelago (Porcupine): A group of divers from the Porcupine Marine Natural History Society carried out Seasearch surveys in the Staffa Archipelago, a previously little-surveyed area. Hayden Close 2 12 Skomer & Skokholm: Three sites around Skokholm 17 Cornwall – Fal maerl beds: The maerl beds in the Fal were dived in 2016, the highlights being records of the estuary are the best and most extensive in England, curled octopus Eledone cirrhosa and the unusual exhibiting 90-100% live maerl in the densest areas. As a nudibranchs Okenia elegans and Thecacera pennigera. priority habitat and one that is potentially under threat A volunteer diving survey of king scallop, Pecten by port expansion, Seasearch divers continued to gather maximus, was completed at Skomer MCZ, which is baseline data on this special area. managed by Natural Resources Wales. 18 Manacles : The area around Dean Quarry adjacent 13 Milford Haven: In addition to the ‘usual’ Seasearch ® dives in this area, additional surveys took place to The Manacles MCZ continued to be a focus of concentrating on native oyster (Ostrea edulis) to attention as uncertainty reigned over the quarry plans. support the Milford Haven Oyster Regeneration Project. A report covering all the Seasearch activities and data from 2001-2015 has been prepared and is available for 14 The Smalls: An extremely exposed and tideswept download from the Seasearch website. group of wave-washed basalt and dolerite rocks 20 miles off the Pembrokeshire coast, The Smalls are very 19 South Devon: Gap-filling in the extensive marine rarely dived but amazingly flat conditions allowed two protected areas of South Devon accounted for the vast visits in 2016, one of which resulted in the first Welsh majority of the survey effort in 2016. The continuing record of the red blenny (Parablennius ruber), revival of the crawfish population was also a notable photographed by Kerry Lewis. feature with records being passed on to the local IFCA (Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority) to inform management. Some sites now guarantee sightings while smaller juveniles have also been recorded, suggesting at least two seasons of successful recruitment. The priority habitat of seagrass beds continued to be surveyed by the Community Seagrass Initiative project and many of their divers filled in Seasearch forms, for which we are grateful. The popular dive site at Babbacombe saw two interesting records of species possibly moving west, the snakelocks anemone shrimp Periclimenes sagittifer and the nationally-rare nudibranch Trapania pallida. Both species are more Kerry Lewis frequently recorded in Dorset. 20 Lyme Bay – Devon & Dorset: The reefs of Lyme Bay 15 Ramsey Island is located off the coast of the St continue to be monitored to assess the effects of the David’s peninsula on the northern side of St Brides Bay. closed areas and management thereof. Pink sea fans are Seasearch has been completed around the island in a prominent feature, often being common to previous years but the exposed west coast has always superabundant, and interesting aspects of their biology been a challenge and unusually calm conditions were were revealed. Although many large seafans were used to dive the south west point (Allt Felin Fawr). recorded in excellent condition, many others were fouled with didemnid ascidians. Successful recruitment ENGLAND was seen, with unbranched and small branched 16 North Devon: The north coast of Devon (apart from individuals. Rare white individuals, with some bearing Lundy) is much less well-surveyed than the popular well-camouflaged white specimens of the fan south coast due to strong tides, poor visibility and nudibranch Tritonia nilsodhneri were spotted. challenging access but keen individuals continued to On the Dorset side, dives continued to target areas provide data from this area, which gained two new chosen from the DORIS bathymetric map to fill in gaps MCZs (Bideford to Foreland Point and Hartland to and ground-truth the topography (particularly of Tintagel) in the second tranche of designation in boulder stony reef). A notable find was the presence of January 2016.