Observations to action: Research to global campaign - Ghost gear impacts and grey seals in the SW UKSue SayerCornwall Seal GroupE: ssayer@suesseals.eclipse.co.ukwww.cornwallsealgroup.co.ukCornwall Seal Group (CSG) volunteers have been recording entangled seals since 2000 and published data on their findings up to 2010 in the Marine Pollution Bulletin (2012). This attracted the attention of World Animal Protection who were planning a global Sea Change Campaign (SCC) tackling ghost fishing gear. World Animal Protection’s CSS is bringing together governments, businesses and fishing organisations to protect sea life and move towards a future free from the threat of ghost fishing gear. Their strategy has three strands – bringing together partners to stop gear being abandoned, supporting new ways to remove ghost gear and replicating successful local sea animal rescue efforts on a global scale. World Animal Protection commissioned CSG to undertake two projects – to update and report on all their seal entanglement data to 2014 and to undertake boat and land based ghost gear surveys. The first will form part of a major World Animal Protection report on entanglement out in June 2015. CSG’s first three months of ghost gear surveys are now complete. Sue Sayer, Bex Allen and Kate Williams will summarise these and the contribution they make to World Animal Protection’s global campaign.
Citation preview
Photos Sue Sayer; Dave McBride ; Terry Thirlaway; Bex Allen
monofilament net and line. Allen et al 2010
Photos Sue Sayer multifilament net
Photos by Bex Allen and Terry Hocking
266 in 2010 for same areasVII e and f Cornish inshore waters:
246 in 2013 alone!
Photo Charles Hood grey seal trapped in keep cage
Photos John Hepburn trawl net over wave cut platform (2009) and
along strand line (2008)
Photos John Meakin Port Nadler
Photos Alec and Enid Farr and Peter Welsh
Photo Newquay Beachcombing
Ph
oto
s R
ob
Wel
ls ,
Kate
Will
iam
s an
dC
lair
e W
alle
rste
in
Photos Rob Wells, Tracey Williams, Claire Wallerstein
Photos Newquay Sea Safaris, Terry Hocking, Fairygirl and Mike
Stephens,
