Underwater Life in the Solway Webinar 6.30 pm on Thursday 17 February – Book Now!
The Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Solway Firth Partnership are presenting a series of webinars that focus on cross border topics such as geology, marine life and archaeology.
This talk, Underwater Life in the Solway, will delve into the depths of the Solway Firth, taking a look at the weird and wonderful wildlife that lies beneath.
Lucy Mather, Cumbria Wildlife Trust Project Officer, will be focusing on some of the weird and wonderful wildlife found on the Solway seabed, from feathery sea pens to feisty spider crabs, and discussing some of the challenges which face them. One of the biggest threats to this habitat is overfishing, and especially trawl fishing where heavy beams are dragged across the seabed and cause significant damage to the flora and fauna. Lucy will highlight some of the key species which are unique to this habitat, and give insights into their ecology and life cycle. They will also discuss sustainable fishing methods such as creel potting, hand-diving, and pole-and-line fishing, and explain how these can be used to help local small-scale fishermen to sustain their businesses whilst also protecting marine life and safeguarding the future of Cumbria’s fish stocks.
Jamie Ribbens, Senior Fisheries Biologist at Galloway Fisheries Trust, will reveal some of the weird and wonderful fish species that live in the Solway estuarine habitats, often travelling between the sea and rivers environments. Lamprey, shad, eel and sparling all lead fascinating lives, much which is still poorly understood. Galloway Fisheries Trust will explain about what is known about the local populations and an insight into how the local rivers support these rare fish.’
The speakers will talk for approximately 40 mins followed by 15 mins of questions. A link to the event will be sent in your confirmation email and again an hour before the event.
To book visit Eventbrite
Photo of Sea Pen by Paul Naylor
