Endangered species research at Lyme Bay

Marinelife has been building relationships with the local angling, dive and fishing boat operators and has established the area as an important habitat for the two threatened marine species during scientific surveys made by Dr Tom Brereton, research director for Marinelife, and his team of volunteer researchers.

Natural England has recognised the work of Marinelife and has been keen to support this unique research by funding new dedicated surveys of Lyme Bay. The new surveys will focus on the breeding population of White-Beaked Dolphins. The aim is to determine their numbers, habitat preference, interaction with other cetaceans and create a photo-identification catalogue.

In addition, funds have been made available for offshore monitoring of the critically endangered Balearic Shearwater in the late winter and early spring.

Marinelife research director Dr Tom Brereton said, ‘We very much appreciate the support from Natural England. This funding will really help strengthen our research and ultimately help us conserve both the flagship species in our waters for the future.

‘We will also be reinforcing our good relationship with the community who take such an active interest in the wildlife of the bay by seeking their further participation in the project. Together we can understand how best to manage the local resources and the diversity of wildlife within the Bay’.

Roger Covey, South West Marine Specialist from Natural England added, ‘We are very happy to support such initiatives which demonstrate a clear scientific need and conservation benefit. These animals are important indicators of the health of our seas, and engaging the local community to increase our understanding brings benefits for all involved’.

White-Beaked Dolphins are a species limited in distribution to the colder waters of the Atlantic and researchers say this population in Lyme Bay may represent the most southerly resident population globally. Balearic Shearwaters, which breed in the Mediteranean, are globally and critically endangered, with numbers estimated to have declined by 98% within the last 50 years. This leaves no more than a couple of thousand pairs left in the world.

The presence of these two species in Lyme Bay represents an internationally important finding in conservation terms.