In this deep-dive discovery pack, you will learn about:
- Ocean camouflage
- Overfishing
- Baited Remote Underwater Video
Berwickshire
Ocean observatory
Your portal to Berwickshire’s underwater world
Welcome to the Berwickshire Ocean Observatory, where you can meet extraordinary marine life and explore the spectacular habitats found beneath the waves in the Berwickshire Marine Protected Area (MPA).
Located on the southeast coast of Scotland, Berwickshire’s waters are unique. The region supports a staggering diversity of marine life rarely found elsewhere in the UK. Magnificent kelp forests, dazzling anemones and the elusive wolffish share these waters with pods of bottlenose dolphins, giant minke whales and thousands of breeding grey seals.
Take a dive into Berwickshire’s watery world and learn how to observe and monitor our changing ocean.
The
Observatory
Through this underwater video archive, you can swim with marine life, examine historical shipwrecks and explore the breath-taking marine habitats found within the Berwickshire MPA from a scientists-eye view.
More coming soon…
Fish
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Video Factfile
Location: Berwickshire and Northumberland Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Depth: 55m
Temp: 6.0
Species: Myxine glutinosa
Common name: Hagfish
Fact: These slimy scavengers live in deep, cold waters all around the UK. Hagfish have long, smooth bodies and a star-shaped mouth, used for feeding on dead and rotting fish on the muddy seafloor.
Video factfile
Location: Berwickshire Marine Reserve, Scotland
Depth: 10m
Temp: 9.0
Species: Labrus bergylta / Taurulus bubalis
Common names: Ballan Wrasse / Long-Spined Scorpion Fish
Fact: These large wrasse grow up to 60cm long and have mottled green, brown and orange markings. Although not traditionally eaten in the UK, Ballan Wrasse have begun to be fished in recent years for export to Asia and use in salmon farming as cleaner fish.
Video Factfile
Location: Berwickshire MPA, Scotland
Depth: 5m
Temp : 11.0
Species: Unidentified
Fact: Juvenile fish in Scottish waters are very difficult to tell apart – these darting juveniles could be a mixture of baby cod, pollack, gobies and other species!
Marine Mammals & Seabirds
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Video factfile
Location: Berwickshire MPA
Depth: 6m
Temp: 8.0
Species: Halichoerus grypus
Common name: Grey Seal
Fact: Over the winter, grey seals gather on beaches in the north of Berwickshire to give birth to their pups, which can be spotted from far away because of their fluffy white fur. These pups feed from their mother almost constantly and can gain up to 2kg in weight every day!
Video Factfile
Location: St Abbs Head
Depth: 3m
Temp: 12.0
Species: Uria aalge
Common name: Guillemot
Fact: The rocky cliffs around St Abbs Head make excellent nesting sites for breeding seabirds. Among them are the Guillemots, who spend most of their life out at sea. In spring, they return to the cliffs to breed and lay their eggs. These penguin look-alkies are supreme swimmers, spending much of their time hunting underwater to find food for their chicks.
Above The Waves
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Video factfile
Location: St Abbs Head, Berwickshire, Scotland
Elevation: 100m
Time: 6.45 am
Fact: St Abbs is a small fishing village on the Berwickshire coast. The village has their own independent lifeboat (the Thomas Tunnock) and a state-of-the-art Marine research Station where scientists’ work focuses on conservation, coastal ecosystems and training marine scientists.
Video Factfile
Location: St Abbs Head, Berwickshire, Scotland
Elevation: 80m
Time: 7am
Fact: St Abbs is home to a productive crab and lobster pot fishery, as well as providing some of the best diving and recreational fishing opportunities in the UK.
Video Factfile
Location: St Abbs
Fact: Most of the underwater footage captured for the Berwickshire Ocean Observatory was captured by our fantastic team of professional scuba divers. They descend to the depths wearing a full dry suit and carrying a range of camera and safety equipment. Would you give scuba diving a try?
Habitats
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Video factfile
Location: Berwickshire Coastline
Depth: 5m
Temp: 10.0
Habitat type: Shallow rocky crevice
Fact: In shallow areas, where sunlight is bright and plentiful, a diversity of seaweeds can photosynthesise and grow. This provides food and shelter for many marine creatures, including starfish and sea urchins. This rocky substrate is also perfect for soft corals known as Dead Man’s Fingers.
Video Factfile
Location: Berwickshire Marine Reserve
Depth: 7m
Temp: 9.0
Habitat type: Kelp forest and mixed seaweeds
Fact: Kelps are tall brown seaweeds that grow all around Scotland’s coasts, forming dense forests that shelter marine life. In Scotland, kelps forests are a ‘Priority Marine Feature’ which means that the government must work to protect them.
Video Factfile
Location: Berwickshire Marine Reserve
Depth: 21m
Temp: 8.0
Habitat type: Rocky Boulders
Fact: The hard surface of these rocky boulders provides the perfect place for colourful forests of anemones and soft corals to grow. These corals, known as Dead Man’s Fingers, stick out from the boulders like hands. These habitats also help protect Berwickshire’s coastline, by slowing down water movement and reducing coastal erosion.
Invertebrates
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Video factfile
Location: Berwickshire Marine Reserve
Depth: 1m
Temp: 12.0
Species: Galathea squamifera / Pagurus bernhardus
Common names: Olive Squat Lobster / Common Hermit Crabs
Fact: Squat lobsters are closely related to hermit crabs. To defend their territory, they often wedge their body into a protected, rocky crevice and wave around their large claws.
Jellyfish
Location: Berwickshire Coastline
Depth: 2m
Temp: 10.0
Species: Staurophora mertensi / Cyanea capillata
Common name: Cross Jelly / Lions’ Mane
Fact: The cross jelly is quite rare in the UK and is usually found further north. But sometimes, cold currents bring the cross jelly down to Berwickshire in large numbers. Lions’ mane jellyfish have beautiful flowing tentacles, but watch out, they have a nasty sting!
Shipwrecks
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Video factfile
Wreck name: HMT Fortuna
Date sunk: 1941, by a German Aircraft
Ship type: Steam Trawler
Location: St Abbs Head, Berwickshire, Scotland
Depth: 55m
Temp: 9.0
Video Factfile
Wreck name: The Dove
Date Sunk: Around 1911
Ship type: Possibly a 19th Century Whaling ship
Location: Around 15 miles north of St Abbs head
Depth: 45m
Temp: 7.0
ENTER THE
SCIENCE CENTRE
The deep-dive discovery packs below will introduce you to a range of species, habitats, survey methods and data collection techniques. Have you got what it takes to be an ocean explorer?
Follow the steps below to find out:
02
Select a deep-dive discovery pack
03
Read the fact file and watch the video
04
Record your findings in the answer sheet!
DISCOVERY PACK CATEGORIES
EVERYTHING
Filter
FLATFISH
VELVET SWIMMING CRABS
In this deep-dive discovery pack, you will learn about:
- Invertebrate anatomy
- Moulting
- Marine predators
SHIPWRECKS
In this deep-dive discovery pack, you will learn about:
- Shipwreck stories
- Maritime history
- Species ID
Educator resources
Facilitation Guide for Teachers and Parents
DOWNLOAD HERESupporting Slides
DOWNLOAD HERE
Discover
More
BLUE MARINE’S BERWICKSHIRE PROJECT
Berwickshire’s waters are unique, with cold and warm water currents converging to provide a diversity of marine life rarely found elsewhere in the UK. Devonshire Cup corals share space alongside Arctic wolffish, giving scientists an opportunity to monitor the effects of climate change within a Marine Protected Area (MPA). This stretch of coastline supports one of the most productive crab and lobster fisheries in Scotland as well as providing some of the best diving and recreational fishing opportunities in the UK.
Unfortunately, the majority of the MPA in Berwickshire is open to bottom towed trawling and dredging with reports of unlawful fishing from trawlers being common. The goal of Blue Marine’s Berwickshire project is to work with the community of Berwickshire to create a template for well protected and sustainably managed MPAs in Scotland.
This Ocean Observatory aims to complement the Berwickshire project by encouraging curiosity, increasing knowledge and inspiring the next generation to care for our oceans.
Visit our website for more information.
ABOUT BLUE MARINE
Blue Marine Foundation is a UK based charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health by addressing overfishing, one of the world’s biggest environmental problems. We are committed to creating marine reserves, restoring vital habitats and establishing models of sustainable fishing. Our mission is to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 and ensure that the remainder is effectively managed.
Visit our website for more information.
