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Twenty ships were involved in an intensive
military exercise off the Cornish coast just days before the
mass stranding of dolphins this summer, it has been confirmed. A
request to the MoD under the Freedom of Information Act has now
revealed that a substantial exercise involving 20 Royal Navy
ships and submarines, as well as vessels from foreign Navies,
was being conducted in the area in the days leading up to the
strandings. The MoD confirmed that sonar “dipper” devises were
used seven times by Merlin and Lynx helicopter crews in the week
before the incident. The mid-frequency sonar used, which is just
beyond the range of human hearing, but at 2—4 kilohertz is in
the range of Common Dolphin hearing, and has been associated
with strandings of marine life in the past. The MoD also
revealed that inert 4•5 inch shells were being fired, as well as
Sea Wolf Missiles and machine guns. Experts believe that if a
number of ships were echo sounding and making so much noise it
could have had a herding effect on the animals, causing
confusion and herding the dolphins ashore.
The teeth and bones of mammals, the
protective shells of mollusks, and the needle sharp spines of
sea urchins and other marine creatures are made from scratch
wonders of nature. They are used to crush food, for structural
support, and defence. The materials of which teeth, shells and
bones are composed are the strongest and most durable in the
animal world, and scientists and engineers have long sought to
mimic them. Now harnessing the process of biomineralization may
be closer to reality as an international team of scientists has
detailed a key, and previously hidden mechanism to transform
amorphous calcium carbonate into calcite, the stuff of
seashells. The new insight promises to inform the development
of new superhard materials, microelectronics and micromechanical
devices.
Researchers are using sea urchins to study
and understand diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease and muscular dystrophy. Although they are
invertebrates, the creatures share a common ancestor with humans
and have more than 7000 of the same genes. With a complete map
of their DNA, scientists can learn how to treat and prevent
diseases in humans better.
There were 8 reported sightings of Bottlenose
Dolphins during October, The south coast pod in the Carrick
Roads and Fal Bay on different days, a sighting off The Brisons
and one off the Wave Hub a few miles north of St Ives. The other
four sightings were off Gwennap Head with one outstanding day
when over 40 were seen. These were the local pod of 7, and
Cookies trio in the bay, and a pod of over 30 offshore.
Only 2 sightings of Common Dolphins, but one
of them was of a super pod of over 300 near The Sevenstones reef
on the 14th. A single Risso's Dolphin was seen off St. Ives on
the 1st of the month Of the 16 reported sightings of Harbour
Porpoises, 12 were off Gwennap Head, other sightings were off
The Longships, The Lizard, The Brisons and The Runnelstone.
Minke Whales were reported 5 times, all off
Gwennap Head and 2 Pilot Whales were seen near the Wave Hub on
the 17th. On the last day of the month a 20 ft whale with a
small dorsal was seen heading east off The St Ives NCI Lookout,
This was probably another Minke Whale. Nineteen reported
sightings of Basking Sharks were all between The Brisons and
Merthen Point, just west of St. Loy Cove, and 12 of them were
off Gwennap Head.
Grey Seals were reported 16 times, they were
seen at Pendeen and Gull Rock
 near
Nare Head, and all the other reports were from Gwennap Head,
which seems to be the place to watch from if you hope to see
marine life. It can however be more exciting further offshore,
for on August 22nd a Humpback Whale was breaching alongside a
boat for ½ an hour, 3 miles south east of Cadgwith. Perhaps we
will be lucky enough to see more of these large whales, for as
well as the one seen off The Scilly Isles in September there was
another possible sighting of one off Cape Cornwall during the
summer. |
