Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust is a multi-award winning, evidence-based marine conservation charity. What they do really works. The trust supports a large network of active citizen scientists across SW communities, who routinely survey seals on their local patch. This gives seals a voice and enables the trust to protect them and their ocean home.
Cornwall Marine Network are proud to support the work of our network members at Seal Research Trust.
They recently released their Annual Report for 2021 which was a great and transformative year for them.
We would like to share just a few key headlines from their report:
- Three grassroots, community-based Stakeholder Groups were set up to protect sensitive marine sites
- Utterly incredible positive feedback from our activity participants showing we had made a difference to them, seals and the environment
- Successful completion of our People Protecting Precious Places Project Report for DEFRA through the Green Recovery Challenge Fund administered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund
- Identifying 134 different entangled seals with up to 18 being sighted on a single survey, including our first seals entangled in plastic flying ring dog toys
- Serious level 3 disturbance affecting a shocking 1487 seals – up to 79 seals stampeding into the sea in a single incident
- 5235 seal surveys (an average of 14 every single day of the year) covering 330 sites by 331 volunteers and 4 countywide seal censuses
- 123311 processed seal photos for 12542 seal IDs including 7 seals that we first met in 2000 and 4 from 2001
- Identifying 192 different ex rescued, rehabilitated and released seals with 18 being seen in a single survey
- SRT now represents seals on multiple national and international statutory forums
Practical conservation actions that made a massive difference on the ground from working with partners to protect the wandering walrus to making the G7 Marine Mammal friendly, as well everyday grassroots interventions to help everyone enjoy our globally rare seals without impact, making our own patch a better place for seals to thrive.
