Beachwatch goes subaqua!

SCUBA diving Sea Champions found out just how much litter lies beneath the waves.

Dive clubs, divers and snorkellers took part in a litter clean-up… underwater!

Sea Champion Volunteer Coordinator for Wales, Rebecca O'Dowd, organised an underwater clean-up in collaboration with the Swansea Yacht and Sub Aqua Club as part of BSAC's Underwater Litterpick 2012.

Whilst SCUBA divers collected and surveyed litter underwater at Langland and Swansea Bay, volunteers who wanted to remain dry undertook a clean-up and survey of the litter on the beach.

Both the underwater and beach survey results will contribute to the Beachwatch summary report. By finding out where the litter comes from on UK beaches, we can run targeted litter campaigns to influence policy makers and change peoples’ behaviour to try to stop it getting there in the first place. 

"It was great fun! We were surprised that there wasn’t much litter on the sea bed but we did find quite a lot of fishing line and weights. It was a great activity to be involved with and we look forward to supporting MCS in other activities in the future” says Sea Champion Paul Nusinov from Swansea.

The BSAC Underwater Litterpick 2012 was timed to coincide with our annual Beachwatch Big Weekend, and will be running until the end of October so there is still chance to take part.

For more information and to register for the BSAC Underwater Litterpick 2012 go to www.bsac.com/litterpick or call 0500 947202. Don't forget to let you're coordinator know if you are keen to take part!

If you don't fancy getting wet but would like to get involved with Beachwatch, click here.

Sea Champion Paul Nusinov gets ready for the underwater clean-up!

Runners needed for the Brighton Marathon!

The MCS Brighton Marathon team had a great time this year and the runners raised nearly £6,000 in total! We have six places available for 2013 and it would be fantastic to have you join our team for the 30th Anniversary of the Marine Conservation Society! 

As an MCS runner you will receive an exclusive running t-shirt or vest, lots of fundraising support and a huge cheer from the MCS cheer points!  Find out more and apply for a charity place today

If you have applied for a ballot place and would like to join the MCS Marathon team, please get in touch with Tori Williams (fundraising@mcsuk.org).

The deadline for applications is Sunday 14th October and all the information (including the application form) can be found here.

Sea Champions have been running for us too! Katie Macer-Wright ran the Forest of Dean Half Marathon raising £571 for marine conservation. Thanks Katie!



Sea Champion Katie Macer-Wright running the Forest of Dean Half Marathon



Sea Champions hit 100!

 

100 Sea Champions are now representing MCS in their communities!

 

From Falmouth to Hastings, Swansea to Bangor and Edinburgh all the way up to Sutherland, our team of a hundred Sea Champions are out there raising a voice for our seas.

 

Sea Champions have been instrumental in gathering support for our campaigns, encouraging thousands of people to pledge for marine protection, getting public support for "Break the Bag Habit", and asking organisations to say 'No!' to balloon and lantern releases.

 

Some Sea Champions have been trained as Seasearch divers, have taken part in Beachwatch surveys and have got involved in marine wildlife reporting across the UK.

 

From dive shows, wildlife festivals and sustainable seafood events, to school assemblies, talks for SCUBA clubs and even co-hosting wildlife cruises with RSPB, you name it, Sea Champions have been there getting the public involved, engaging the next generation, and signing up new volunteers all over the UK.

 

Sea Champions have made a fantastic start to getting the MCS message out into their communities!

 

Whether you are retired, a student or a professional, anybody can get involved. Our Sea Champion recruitment goes on so do get in touch with the Volunteer Coordinator for your area to find out how, or visit www.mcsuk.org/seachampions.

 

 

Busy with beach art at St. Bees!

Beach lovers at St. Bees created a sand menagerie of marine wildlife to highlight just how amazing our seas are!

Sea Champion and MCS Trustee Kay Foster manned an MCS stand at the Wildlife Trust's Beached Art event to help spread the message about marine conservation.

From basking sharks, starfish, and minke whales to cuttlefish and turtle hatchlings, there were some truely amazing entries into the beach art competition. 

Kay focused on promoting our turtle projects by helping children make turtle hatchlings out of old egg boxes!  Hands on activities like this are a great way to engage familes allowing you to talk about what's out there and what anyone can do to help protect it. 

If you'd like to run this activity at an event near you, download our activity sheet.  



Turtle hatchlings on the beach at St. Bees!

The South Devon Crab Festival - back, bigger and better than ever before!

The Sea Champions team were joined by our Fisheries Program Manager Jim Masters at the weekend for the South Devon Crab Festival!

The team took part in this fantastic week of fun crabby events dedicated to the celebration of South Devon Brown Crab, one of the regions finest natural resources which is now recommended if taken from the South Devon Inshore Potting Agreement Area.

From street parties to crab throwing competitions (...no crabs hurt!) the week of activities centered around learning about their habitats and the importance of sustainability in fishing for them.

It was a perfect opportunity for the Sea Champions team to promote www.fishonline.org and distribute our Pocket Good Fish Guides as well as gather pledges for Marine Conservation Zones in England.

Clare, one of the event organisers pledging for Marine Conservation Zones at the South Devon Crab Festival

Food for Thought!

Teaching kids about sustainable seafood 

Teaching hundreds of kids about sustainable seafood may seem like quite a daunting task, but it is so important they understand the basics of overfishing.

Welsh Projects Officer Dr. Lou Luddington and Welsh Sea Champions Volunteer Coordinator Rebecca O’Dowd came up with a great activity to run at the ‘Food for Thought!’ event in Bridgend.

Using the basics of the game tag, they had one team of kids play the role of fishermen whilst the other team pretended to be fish – when they increased the number of fishermen, you guessed it, the number of fish decreased much more quickly!

They introduced the concept of sustainability and different fishing methods by asking the kids to think about which fishing methods might reduce the number of fish quicker than others, using pole and line and net fishing as examples.

“Over 500 children attended the event. Although of primary school age, they were really clued up about overfishing, and were keen to know what sort of questions they should ask when they eat fish in restaurants” explained Rebecca.

“Food for Thought” was organised by Bridgend County Borough Council and Bridgend Environment Educational and Sustainability Partnership.

Sea Champion gets Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall to pledge for Marine Protection

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was on the beach yesterday filming for his new series of Fish Fight for Channel 4. From Thailand and the Phillipines to Antarctica, Hugh has been focussing on Marine Protected Areas all around the world.

Sea Champions showed their support when Hugh arrived at Weston-super-Mare yesterday. Whilst Hugh demonstrated the impact some trawlers can have on the sea floor, Sea Champions Katie Macer-Wright and Kirsty Lynham were on the beach gathering pledges for marine protection in England and distributing campaign materials. 

Hugh was asking the public to think about where their fish comes from, whilst our Sea Champions were distributing Pocket Good Fish Guides to the audience.

"It was an amazing day packed with visual impact, and lots of the kids loved it. It really helped the public see the destruction some fishing methods can cause and the need for MPAs" says Kirsty.

You can help stop this destruction by pledging for marine protection here.

Demonstrating the impact some trawlers can have on the sea floor.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall pledging for marine protection with Sea Champion Katie Macer-Wright