Uk Marine Fish Recording Scheme - Strange fish around the British Isles

Project SeaUK is a multidisciplinary scientific research and communication programme coordinated by the National Marine Aquarium. It provides a scientific platform to enable everyone to enjoy, learn about and care about the UK marine environment in the face of the potential impacts of climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction and pollution.

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» The UK Marine Fish Recording Scheme

Our Mission: To inspire everyone to take action towards sustainability and conservation of the marine environment.

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Many strange fish turn up around the British Isles. Some are stragglers that have been carried away from their normal habitats while others may be the pioneers of a new species extending its range into our coastal waters. Some may even be rare members of formerly common types of fish. Each of these unusual animals is part of a larger picture. The National Marine Aquarium has built up a collection of thousands of records of rare and unusual fish, the analysis of which can provide evidence of the impact of warming seas or the effects of fisheries.

You Can Help

We welcome records from anglers, divers, fishermen, sailors and the general public, as well as scientists, to enable us to build up a comprehensive and reliable source of information on the fish of the seas and estuaries around the British Isles. This is crucial at a time when fish populations face all kinds of threats and our coastal areas are subjected to considerable environmental change.

Many of our present records are from the south west, and more sightings are needed from everywhere but especially Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and the North Sea. Whilst primarily concerned with in British records, these do not exist in isolation and we are interested in reports from all over the North East Atlantic. We are very willing to try to identify fish and other marine life, but it is not always possible from descriptions or even photographs.

New species are fascinating, but not important in themselves. As birdwatchers well know, the occasional animal can turn up in the most bizarre place. It is when it starts to become more common that these first records start to become significant. As well as rarities, we are interested in triggerfish, sunfish, seahorses and sea bream. With continuing support this will become an invaluable resource for the future of marine conservation.