Kirsty Andrews celebrates the 40th anniversary of a voluntary marine reserve that continues to demonstrate the value of protecting the sea
KIRSTYANDREWS
Where protection is the priority
Kirsty Andrews celebrates the 40th anniversary of a voluntary marine reserve that continues to demonstrate the value of protecting the sea
Wolffish : the UK ’ s biggest blenny . The elegantly arranged arms of a small but perfectly formed curled octopus . The infrequently spotted but beautiful featherstar shrimp . Fields of brittlestars as far as the eye can see , a sea of colourful arms reaching up for food , a writhing mass broken up only by the vibrant colours of occasional dahlia or chunky horseman anemones . Passing schools of coley or mackerel in large numbers overhead . Lobsters in healthy numbers patrolling the seabed , or , with other crustacean cousins , to be found under every boulder . So many and so varied nudibranchs to be found here that there is a festival for them in the Spring . If you ’ re lucky , dolphins or a minke whale spotted from the boat on the way out .
I could probably have stopped at wolffish and you ’ d have known where I was talking about , as the Berwickshire Marine Reserve ( BMR ) is the only UK diving spot where these appealingly ugly fish can reliably regularly be found by divers - they are cold-water species and St Abbs is towards the Southern end of their territory . In fact , this area of sea
“ This small but wonderful part of our country has a thriving dive scene ”
benefits from cold Arctic currents as well as warm Gulf Stream ones , which may go some way to explain the great abundance and diversity of life here .
I ’ m talking about the Marine Reserve today as it recently celebrated its 40th birthday - many happy returns , hearty congratulations from me ; I ’ ll raise a glass in your honour . I ’ ll drink in particular to the foresighted souls who created the reserve back in 1984 , including my friend , prolific author and famed Eyemouth resident Lawson Wood . He was joined by David Bellamy , who leapt into the sea from St Abbs Harbour in celebration in August 1984 . Berwickshire remains to this day Scotland ’ s only voluntary marine reserve . Its aims are to conserve biodiversity , raise awareness and promote recreational use alongside sustainable fishery . I applaud these goals , especially the idea of working together with local fisheries in an area where these have always integral to the community ; driving through Eyemouth , you can ’ t miss the pictures of the Herring Queens over the decades , and the harbour is still full of working boats .
I also laud the BMR ’ s efforts to include others in appreciating the area ’ s richness . Its Marine Education Centre by the Eyemouth Harbour attracts and informs passing tourists , and there are a range of events throughout the year as well as ongoing marine monitoring . We divers get the best of it , seeing the delights of the reserve firsthand , but the BMR team have created snorkel trails and shore-based activities such as Shorewatch and an annual marine bioblitz , so there ’ s something for everyone .
Back to the diving though … the protected area extends across only an 8km stretch of coastline , from just North of St Abbs ’ Head to Eyemouth . It reaches down to 50m depth , and this represents an area of 10.3 square km . This small but wonderful part of our country has a thriving dive scene ; I reckon I ’ ve been on half a dozen different dive boats there over the years and haven ’ t tried all of them yet .
The Eyemouth set-up is excellent but the St Abbs skippers have the luxury of the smallest commute of all - five minutes or so to Black Carr , and not much further to the delightfully named Skelly Hole , a fantastic dive underneath raucous seabird colonies . That tiny commute in such a wonderful protected area must be why they ’ re such a cheerful bunch . Time to plan my next visit . �
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