Stranded Seal Discovered by Marine Students
Students on the first year of the Marine Science Foundation Degree at Falmouth Marine School discovered a stranded seal whilst carrying out their 'Shore Thing' Survey at Lands End.
FALMOUTH MARINE SCHOOL
Stranded Seal Discovered by Marine Students
Students on the first year of the Marine Science Foundation Degree at Falmouth Marine School discovered a stranded seal whilst carrying out their 'Shore Thing' Survey at Lands End.
The students contacted British Diving Marine Rescue after discovering from locals that the seal pup had been on the rocks for the past three days. The BDMLR said it was aware of the situation and had been monitoring the progress of the pup. The team were confident that given enough time the seal pup would return to the sea itself, which was exactly what it did during the time that the students were on the beach.
The students were delighted at this unexpected addition to their field trip. Riah Lingga, who moved from Indonesia to study in Cornwall, said: “It was an amazing experience for us. It's the first time I've ever seen a seal in its natural environment up close.”
Another student, Clive Pollitt, 41 from Truro said: "It was a wonderful opportunity to put our training into action. The highlight of the experience was watching the seal pup return safely to the water"
The students were at Lands End conducting the 'Shore Thing' Survey, run by Project Co-ordinator Fiona Crouch of MarLIN, to assess the biodiversity of the rocky shore and determine the impact of global warming on local shores.
MarLIN, the Marine Life Information Network is an organisation working with schools and volunteer recorders to collect information on the marine life of rocky shores around Britain. All the information collected is made available online and helps benchmark current conditions to facilitate the measurement of climate change in the future.
Dave Linnell, Principal of Cornwall College commented: “It’s great to see students getting involved in national projects and using their initiative and knowledge of the subject to deal with these situations. The training they receive on their course at Falmouth Marine School will, no doubt provide them with further opportunities to support local organisations in the future.”
Falmouth Marine School
Killigrew StFalmouth TR11 3QS01326 310 310
