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Help at hand for stranded marine life
MANY people dream of swimming with dolphins.
Holding on to the dorsal fin of their new friend and gliding delicately through tropical seas, with the sun glistening off the warm water as it laps gently against them.
Consider this though for an alternative dolphin dream. Wading through the not so generously warm North Sea to a stranded Striped dolphin who is injured and bleeding, and due to her pain is not the most friendly creature in the sea.
As she thrashes about in agony and confusion her condition is deteriorating and her survival depends on your ability to get her into a stable position.
Could you do it?
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue is a charitable organisation which does just that. Based at various stations across the country volunteers work to provide a committed 24 hour marine rescue service for dolphins, seals, porpoises, and whales.
Formed in 1988 the organisation started as a few divers who got together to see how they could get involved with a rescue effort responding to a mass mortality of Harbour seals in the Wash area of East Anglia.
Since then they have gained expert knowledge of marine wildlife and now train 400 volunteer Marine Mammal Medics a year. They also have 20 whale rescue pontoons based at various points around the British coastline waiting to save stranded whales and dolphins.
They were involved in the rescue of the Thames whale on January 20 2006 but routinely the bulk of the rescues they do locally is that involving resident seal populations, especially off the Yorkshire coast.
The organisation is run by volunteers, who in this area work closely with the Scarborough Sea Life Centre.
Todd German , a senior aquarist at the Sea Life Centre said: “The local medics for the BDMLR are a huge help to us. They are usually first on the scene when a seal is in trouble. After the initial assessment they will then bring the seals to us if needed. It really helps us to have someone to work alongside, and the seals stand a much better chance of recovery. All the mammals they look after are in very good hands.”
Rescues in the Scarborough area are overseen by Yorkshire Regional Co-ordinator Bev Drayton.
She said: “The organisation is growing in popularity very much. However, we are always in need of more volunteers. We currently have about 30 extremely active medics between here and Hull. We have a lot more trained in the area but not everyone wants to be an active medic. On the register there are in excess of 70 medics.
“We need active medics not only to help with rescues but to help promote what we do. We have had our busiest season ever for seal rescues and each pup rescued needing veterinary treatment costs us between 120 to 160 before we can relay it to a rescue and rehabilitation hospital. We do not get any funding for that so we have to fund raise when we are not out doing rescues to help pay the bills.”
Anyone over the age of 16 can volunteer to be a medic. Training courses are held across the country, enabling people to become official British Divers Maine Life Rescue Marine Medics.
The courses are 70 and teach the basics of rescuing seals, dolphins, whales, and porpoises. The cost of the course is broken down to 35 for 12 months membership to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue and insurance, and 35 for course materials. After completing the course volunteers will walk away with the internationally recognised British Divers Certificate.
Recently volunteers gathered at Wykeham Lakes for one of the said courses.
After a morning lecture at Ayton Village Hall the hardy volunteers braved the cold lake, chilled further by the icy wind, to perform rescues on life sized models of seal, whales, and dolphins.
David James, a 50-year-old support worker from South Cliff, decided to take the plunge and become a volunteer medic. He said: “I am very much looking forward to being an official medic. I have got a degree in marine biology and I thought this would be a good opportunity to put my further my knowledge.
“The course has been very interesting, and the practical side has been a lot of fun. I am quite nervous about the thought of doing my first rescue, but we have been given enough information here I know it will be alright.”
Trevor Weeks, National Co-ordinator for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue was on hand to provide some help training the medics.
He said: “This area is now the third biggest in the UK for rescues, which is due to it’s large seal population.
“Today’s course has been absolutely packed. We have had so many people as a lot of interest has been generated in the Yorkshire area. The medics here are a really great team. It takes a special type of person to be a marine medic, and that really shows here. This team is very dedicated, they will drop everything at a moments notice. From a national perspective we are all very proud of them.”
If you would like to dive into the world of marine medics, and get involved in rescuing marine life in Yorkshire visit www.bdmlr.org.uk or call Bev Drayton on 07980455382.
Alternatively go along to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue’s next meeting, which is on Tuesday, May 13, at 7.30pm, at The Cask Inn, in Valley Bridge, Scarborough.
l For a taste of the action from their latest course at Wykeham Lakes go to www.scarborougheveningnews.co.uk and watch the SENTV video.
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Weather for Scarborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
