CWT's Work To Monitor And Conserve Cornwall's Megafauna

South West

Marine

Ecosystems

4th April 2014

Abigail Crosby

Marine Conservation Officer

Cornwall Wildlife Trust Seaquest Southwest

CWT’s work to monitor and conserve

Cornwall’s marine megafauna

•Established in 1962

•Marine Stranding Network – 20 years

•Pinger investigations since 2009

•Fisheries management

•MPA development

Seaquest Southwest • A marine recording project

utilising public sightings to further

our understanding of marine life

around our coastline.

seaquest@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk

Seaquest Southwest aims to;

•engage people in,

•collect data about,

•and use that information for the better

understanding and conservation of,

marine and coastal wildlife in the south

west.

Seaquest Basking

Shark Project 2008 - 2012

• Provide data on inshore

cetacean populations and

cetacean bycatch around

Cornwall and the Isles of

Scilly.

• Test bycatch mitigation

measures with inshore

netters and promote

responsible fishing practices.

• Develop management

strategies around Cornwall

and the Isles of Scilly to

protect cetaceans and their

ecosystem.

Seaquest Netsafe 2009 - 2012

Seaquest Southwest today

• Public events – sea watches, evening talks, boat trips, socials

• Volunteer recruitment, training and support – Volunteer programme, Seaquest

Sundays

• Annual Seaquest conference - celebrating citizen marine recording

• Twice yearly newsletters

• Annual report

• Annual Seaquest Roadshow

• Facebook site and website

• Data shared with partners

• 741 one-off marine wildlife sightings.

• Number of volunteers trained 110.

• 73 Seaquest surveys were conducted by trained volunteers resulting in 164 ¾ hours

• 15 public sea watches with over 200 people attending.

• 5 evening talks and socials

• Seaquest Road-show engaged with over 600 members of the public in 5 days.

• Seaquest Marine Recorders Conference held at Newquay College to an audience of

over 50 volunteers

Seaquest Southwest summary of

2013 and what to beat in 2014!

Thank you for your attention

Merci pour votre attention

Towards a common, coherent and efficient response to cross-border challenges

Vers une réponse commune, cohérente et efficace aux défis transfrontaliers PANACHE

Abby Crosby

Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Abby.crosby@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk