Marine Conservation in Cornwall

CORNWALL

Marine Conservation in Cornwall

The seas around Cornwall are some of the richest and most diverse around the UK. We have a range of habitats beyond the sea from estuary and mudflat to high-rise clifftop and sandy beaches. Cornwall is home to the world’s second biggest fish, the gentle basking shark, forests of stunning pink corals and walls of brightly coloured jewel anemones.

Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)
Photograph copyright Simon Burt

Cornwall is visited by a number of whales, including minke, pilot and orcas, in search of food and is a year-round habitat for dolphins and porpoises. The bottlenose dolphin, the white-beaked, common, striped, Atlantic white-sided and Risso’s dolphin are also seen off our coasts.

Marine conservation is an essential part of the work of Cornwall Wildlife Trust, yet it poses a number of challenges. We still have very little information on the marine habitats and species around the Cornish coast. On land, we can see everything around us and can easily carry out surveys to locate sensitive habitats and species and set aside reserves for their protection. In the sea, surveying is far more difficult and relies predominantly on diver surveys. It is very unlike land-based action - we can not buy the seabed, and declare it a reserve.

Cuckoo wrasse (Labrus mixtus)
Photograph by Ruth Williams