Category: Uncategorized
‘Hauling Up Solutions’ – Scottish creel fishermen attend successful bycatch and entanglement workshop in London
Written by Ellie MacLennan, SEA project co-ordinator. Last week myself and five creel fishermen from Scotland were invited to attend ‘Hauling up Solutions’, a two-day cetacean bycatch and entanglement workshop hosted by Cefas and Defra at the Zoological Society of London. Seven net fishermen from Cornwall, as well as a host of scientists and researchers, government […]
How do you train to disentangle large whales?
This blog was written by Ellie MacLennan, SEA project co-ordinator and member of the UK Large Whale Disentanglement Team (LWDT). Two weeks ago the Scottish contingent of the UK Large Whale Disentanglement Team (LWDT) met in Findhorn for a three-day refresher training course. The team, established in 2007 by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) […]
UK entanglements – a recent article from the Natural History Museum
This article was written in collaboration with several SEA partners and highlights some of the entanglement data gathered in recent years from the Hebrides, and the impact these incidents can and do have on the local fishing community. No entanglement is deliberate and no fisherman wants to catch these animals in their gear. SEA would like to highlight […]
Exploring an unusual mass mortality event in the North Atlantic
This blog has been written by National Museums Scotland Curatorial Preparator and SMASS colleague Georg Hantke. It details his summer tour of the Scottish coast collecting samples from the unusually high number of stranded dead whales that were reported to SMASS. Several of these reports were received from fishermen who encountered carcasses floating at sea, and as […]
A whale of a time in Orkney and the far north east
Last week I returned to Orkney, visiting Scrabster on route and the far north-east coast of mainland Scotland to meet with more fishermen to discuss the marine life they encounter, their experiences of marine animal entanglements, hear their suggestions of why animals may become caught in fishing gear, and ways this could perhaps be prevented. […]
Is marine animal entanglement in Scottish waters really a problem?
As I work my way around the coast interviewing fishermen about their experiences, knowledge and perceptions of marine animal entanglements, some have questioned just how big a problem this might be. While a few fishermen have told me that they have experienced several animals caught in their gear over the years others have referred to […]
A minke and a great multi-organisational team effort
Marine animal stranding and entanglement rescue and recovery attempts often require a team effort, bringing together lots of different individuals and organisations to share their resources and expertise. Last week members of the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) had the opportunity to work alongside the Scottish Coast Guard, Army, and local farmers when a minke whale live stranded […]
Encountering a whale entanglement – a Fisherman’s story
This blog was written by a creel fisherman operating off the west coast of Scotland and details a whale he was involved in disentangling several years ago. It is a great example of what and how the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) can learn from fishermen regarding the entanglement and disentanglement of large marine animals. […]
Adventures of a veterinary pathologist
This blog was written by SEA partner Dr Andrew Brownlow, veterinary pathologist with the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS). A wee tale about how, sometimes, it’s good to have a strong rope on a tail. It’s often the case when, turning up on a beach with your post-mortem kit, a bizarre combination of laboratory-grade […]
Minke whale entanglement – an update from the field
This blog is written by Stephen Marsh who is the Operations Manager with BDMLR, one of the six SEA partners. On Tuesday 10th July, crew on the wildlife trip boat run by Hebridean Whale Cruises out of Gairloch saw an entangled mike whale in the North Minch. The whale approached the boat on three occasions in […]