BSAC clubs have just taken part in the very first Marine Champions Action Weekend. Designed to champion the marine environment and shine a light on the positive impact BSAC members can make, the new Marine Action Weekend concept got off to a great start.
The 16th and 17th of May saw many of BSAC’s network of Marine Champions engage their club members in a range of marine environment and citizen science projects, both topside and underwater. From seagrass and marine life surveys to underwater litter picks and beach cleans, it proved to be a busy weekend of marine championing in action.
BSAC’s Environment Chair, Katherine Knight, who has led the Marine Champion initiative, said the Action Weekend was a great way to kick off a summer of citizen science.
“I am delighted by the way our Marine Champions are positively engaging their clubs to help protect and advocate for our precious marine environment. With the success of the first Action Weekend, and more scheduled over the summer, I look forward to seeing even more BSAC members, divers and snorkellers getting involved and making a difference.”
With the weather largely shining favourably on our Marine Champions, here are just a few of the first Action Weekend stories:
Golden Lion SAC
With their first club sea dive of the year coinciding with the Marine Champions Action Weekend, Wrexham-based Golden Lion SAC headed for Anglesey to include an egg case survey in their dive plans. However, with poor viz scuppering their surveys, seven club members turned their attention to the shoreline for an impromptu beach clean, removing debris and old fishing gear from the water. Meanwhile, the club’s Marine Champion Dai Evans even managed to add in a ghostnet shoreline search while diving in Shetland.
Exeter SAC
Babbacombe beach was the focus for Exeter SAC’s Action Weekend, with 14 divers donning their fins for an underwater litter pick, while five members rolled up their sleeves to clean along the shoreline. The result was an impressive haul of marine debris, including 10 kilos of fishing weights, 2 kilos of non-recycling line, half a fishing rod and several lightweight crab pots. The team’s efforts were rewarded with a well-earned breakfast!
Cayman Islands Divers
Building on the marine survey work they have been doing with other conservation groups, Cayman Islands Divers used their Action Weekend to launch their own survey project. The club’s intention is to focus their survey efforts on a specific coral reef to build up a more complete picture over time. Their first project dive took place on the Sunday and will now be repeated so the club can observe and record any changes. Their findings will be used to support local coral conservation.
Nautical Archaeology Society SAC
Despite thunder and a hail storm, members from NASSAC made the most of the whole Marine Champion Action Weekend to conduct intertidal surveys around Hayling Island, near Chichester in Hampshire. As part of the club’s Portunus project – which is monitoring the underwater habitats of both Chichester and Langstone Harbours – the team recorded a plethora of marine life, including a Pacific oyster reef, seagrass species, green crab and solar powered sea slugs. They also managed to release a stranded lesser spotted cat shark into deeper waters. With the hail increasing, the team called it a day, and enjoyed a weekend de-brief in the local pub.
Newbury Scuba SAC
Newbury opted to make a ‘Bin it, don’t ditch it!’ statement to mark their Marine Champion Action Weekend, with a photo opportunity in their training pool. The club is using their local council’s clean river campaign to raise awareness during their try dive activities.
The BSAC team
Not to miss out on the action, members of the BSAC HQ Team also took to the coast to celebrate the first Marine Champion Action Weekend.
BSAC’s Environment Chair Katherine Knight joined other shore surveyors to conduct two seagrass surveys and a beach clean in north west Scotland. Katherine also visited a seagrass restoration project run by Wester Ross Fisheries Trust. Meanwhile, BSAC CEO Mary Tetley joined Bangor University and ZSL (The Zoological Society of London) on their native oyster and marine habitat recovery project, Connecting Conwy, between the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay. Alongside 12 other volunteers, Mary helped to record a host of marine life, including oysters, shrimps and crabs.
And last, but certainly not least, BSAC HQ resident labrador Arthur, took to the beach in north Wales with his owner, BSAC Membership team member Sandra Crowley, to search for egg cases as part of the Shark Trust’s Great Egg case Hunt.
- For more information on the next Action Weekend, go to bsac.com/actiondays
- Interested in becoming a Marine Champion for your BSAC club? Sign up now at bsac.com/marinechampions
