Getting seaweed savvy with the Big Seaweed Search

Our South West Volunteer Manager Jules Agate has been seeing seaweeds in a new light with the Big Seaweed Search (BSS). Read on to find out all about her macro algae adventures!

Here in the South West of England we’ve really taken to the Big Seaweed Search - like blue-rayed limpets to kelp! The BSS is a partnership project for the Marine Conservation Society with the Natural History Museum (NHM). The aim of the BSS is to involve the public as a force of citizen scientists to help us to find out how the distribution of different types of seaweed, and its abundance, is changing in response to changes in the marine environment. 

The three key changes occurring in our seas that seaweeds are likely to be responding to are: 

• Rise in sea surface temperature 
• Influx of non-native species 
• Increasing acidification (from dissolved carbon dioxide) 

Despite almost encircling our coastline, with a phenomenal 650+ species in the UK, we still lack data on exactly what seaweed is growing where. This is why we absolutely need citizens to help us ‘do’ the science. There’s just so much coastline and so much seaweed to record! 

Seaweeds are important in their own right too. They create the structure and habitat that provides shelter and food for thousands of creatures like urchins, molluscs and fish. Seaweeds are crucial to commercial fisheries, are used in foods, cosmetics and medicines and play a vital role in protecting our coasts from wave action and storm damage. 

We have amazing seaweed diversity in our SW seas at the warmer end of the UK temperature spectrum, from huge strapping kelps to delicate looking coral weeds. Also there is a lot of alien invasive species growing in some SW localities, particularly Japanese Wireweed (Sargassum muticum) and Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida).

The BSS uses just 14 species (or groups of species where species level identification is difficult). The 14 are all likely to respond to environmental change and can therefore indicate to us what is happening to our seas more generally. They are also relatively easy to identify.

I became a bit of an expert last summer at rapidly picking out the 14 BSS target types from amongst the piles of those washed up on my local beach. My record is 15 min to collect samples of 9 species! I use the (carefully washed) samples I collect in displays at public shows, events and training sessions to demonstrate what the BSS is all about, and how to do it.

The beauty of the BSS is that it is very straight-forward, entailing just a 5m wide walk from the high to low shore, identifying and ticking off any of the 14 target seaweeds that you see. You’re also asked to make a rough estimate of how much is there and record some features of the shore. It is so simple that it doesn’t feel like you are doing a very big and important scientific experiment, but that’s exactly what it is; one that anybody can join, on any chosen shore (as long as there is seaweed!).

In September 2016 we ran a training session in Cornwall, very kindly organised by Simon Hocking of the National Trust, West Cornwall and his team, and lead by Prof Juliet Brodie from the NHM. This brought together over 40 people and completed three 5m surveys in the gorgeous Mounts Bay Marine Conservation Zone.The next week, I ran my own session for the Polzeath Marine Conservation Group and some more National Trust staff. 

We’ve now had more than 20 surveys uploaded in the South West and it is really taking off. It’s great to see people getting closely involved with our previously over-looked marine macro-algae (aka seaweeds!) and it definitely feels as if we’re starting to build a clearer picture of the seaweeds around our coasts – exciting!

If you’d like to get involved: Check out the Big Seaweed Search website where you can:

• Read more about the project 
• Download the guide and recording form. 
• Explore the current data 

Don’t forget to Tweet your seaweed activities using #BigSeaweedSearch to @mcsuk @NHMLondon 

Contact jules.agate@mcsuk.org if you are interested in hosting your own group survey or training in the SW and seachampions@mcsuk.org for other regions.

Further reading: Recommended guide to Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland (2nd Edition) by Bunker, Brodie, Maggs and Bunker £19.50 from the MCS shop 

Choosing sustainable seafood with chef Mike King

Do you love eating seafood but aren’t sure if what you’re eating is sustainable...

We asked chef Mike King, one of Compass Group UK & Ireland's expert culinary team, for his top tips on how to choose the best seafood. Mike is a"fish and sustainability"champion for the leading foodservice company and features in the latest Good Fish Guide video. Mike shares his passion for cooking sustainable seafood and his delicious sustainable hake, sorrel sauce and summer vegetables recipe.

What is your connection with seafood? 

I have been a professional chef for 18 years and a keen fisherman for about 25. My ideal day would be spent digging my own bait, fishing, and then returning to the kitchen with my catch to turn it into something special, knowing I have only taken what I need. I have been lucky enough to travel extensively bettering both my craft and my passion.

I live in Brighton, about 50 yards from the sea, when I am not in the kitchen or fishing at the marina you will find me on my kayak or enjoying a glass of wine on the beach with my fiancé.

What do you love about the ocean? 

As a keen fisherman & professional chef I have had a connection with the ocean since I was a boy. My love of fishing in Scotland as a kid soon merged with my love of cooking and now I pride myself on being able to get the best out of the ingredients I either catch or source responsibly.

Even in my (relatively short) lifetime I have witnessed changes in the species I used to catch, and the ease in which I used to catch them. I have travelled the world with my knife and fishing rod and am yet to visit anywhere where the locals talk about an abundance of seafood and do not refer to “the good old days”

Why is sustainable seafood important to you?

Sustainability is important to me because the sea is a finite resource, it is not as easy to gauge stock levels as it is to count cows in a field, or crops in the dirt. The oceans must be looked after not just for the benefit of all the creatures that rely on them to live, but also to guarantee future generations get to enjoy all they have to offer… from the taste of a freshly shucked oyster, or freshly caught Mackerel, to enjoying a clean beach and swim. If we do not take responsibility for our actions we will end up with a plastic sea with little life, and no one wants that.

As a chef, what are the challenges or barriers in sourcing sustainable seafood? 

The biggest challenge is knowledge and skillset. We as a nation have become disconnected from what we eat and there are a huge range of UK seasonal species that largely get ignored. Historically we think of the big 5- Tuna, Salmon, Cod, Haddock & Prawns. The MCS Good Fish Guide helps identify sustainable species and is a great tool for chefs and consumers to use when sourcing seafood.

It’s important that everyone is able to get their hands on lesser used species like Dab, Gurnard and other fish to familiarise themselves with the preparation needed to turn them into something beautiful. People can be intimidated by species they are not familiar with. It is a complicated business, as it’s not as easy as earmarking all cod as sustainable, it depends on the individual fishery and catching methods, it all boils down to education and communication, at all levels. Something that MCS is helping to make people more aware of.

What tips would you give to chefs and consumers in choosing sustainable seafood?

Always ask your supplier for seasonal, sustainable choices, and don’t be afraid to ask for guidance in preparation, or for them to help in supplying fish prepared for you. Set your boundaries and do not deviate from them. Do not buy anything on the fish to avoid list and try your hardest to use fish rated 1-3 on the MCS Good Fish Guide. Look for certification like Marine Stewardship Council for wild caught fish and Aqua Stewardship Council for farmed fish. Don’t assume something is sustainable because there is a quota for it. Buy British, Seasonal and Sustainable, and shout about it!

As a consumer, always ask where your fish is sourced from, and don’t be afraid to decline the choice should – for example- the Scallops be Dredged rather than hand dived. Yes you will pay a little more for them, but you are investing in a sustainable ocean for all to enjoy in the years to come.

Try Mike King’s scrumptious sustainable hake, sorrel sauce & summer vegetables recipe here 

We have got the bottle! Deposit return system on the way for Scotland

Buoyed by today's announcement in Scottish Parliament, MCS Scotland Conservation Officer Catherine Gemmell describes what it has been like on the campaign trail for a deposit return system, and her thoughts on what needs to happen now for it to be a success.

"It was on my second day working for MCS that I introduced to the idea of a deposit return system at a Call for Evidence event being held at Heriot Watt University. I bought a can from their cafe and when finished its contents I popped the can into the reverse vending machine. I got a credit note for 10p - I was sold!

"Straight away I could see the benefits for our oceans, our beaches and our society. Giving people an incentive to recycle is a fantastic idea to increase the amount of cans and bottles being recycled which would also mean less being littered on our beaches and entering our oceans.

"I was convinced, now it was time to convince the Scottish Government that this would be the best next step after their success with the 5p carrier bag charge. And so began two and a half years of campaigning for me, adding to more than a decade of work by MCS and our partners to bring about change for good.

"We've put on lots of thought-provoking, outside-the-box ways to make the issue clear, all with the serious aim of improving pollution levels on our coastlines. With the hashtag #wildbottlesighting any littered or ‘wild’ bottles spotted could be photographed and posted to social media - our  map shows these #wildbottlesightings are not just at the coast but also in parks, streets and rivers.

"Together with our partners in the Have You Got The Bottle coalition, we invited MSPs to a Parliamentary event with a label on bottles found on a local Edinburgh beach! And we took pupils from Cramond Primary School, with a jellyfish made out of plastic bottles, to talk with MSPs - they expertly answered questions on Deposit Return Systems and described why they think it would be good for Scotland.

"We were delighted before the summer when Roseanna Cunningham announced that the Scottish Government were going to be commissioning system design - and now we hear First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announce today that Scotland will be implementing a deposit return system as part of 'Scotland's Programme for Government 2017-18' - we are absolutely ecstatic!

"We'll need to make sure that Zero Waste Scotland and Scottish Government design the system specifically for Scotland's needs, taking into account current recycling methods, small busisnesses and rural communities. We hope to see a big decrease in numbers of #wildbottlesighting reports in future.

"As we all know the sea knows no boundaries so the challenge has been set - Scotland has the bottle - what about the rest of the UK?"

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