The 2017 SWME Annual Report the fourth in this series has just been completed and it can be downloaded here.

The report is bigger than ever (84 pages) and has a fantastic range of observations and records ranging from new species of sea slug and shark, the continued rise of tuna and crawfish and continued decline of basking shark sightings and worryingly high levels of strandings of common dolphins. It also looks as management from MPAs, and wrasse fisheries to plastic pollution and marine developments.

It records the major marine events of 2017 and has many pictures and live web links so that you can follow up references. The contents are outlined below:

Introduction, Background and objectives  Bob Earll, Keith Hiscock & Richard White

Background Oceanography – Western Channel Observatory  Tim Smyth

Plankton Observations  Angus Atkinson, Keith Hiscock, Claire Widdicombe, Andrea McEvoy and Paul Rooks

The Seashore and Seabed  Keith Hiscock

Fish & Turtles  Doug Herdson

Marine and Coastal Birds South West  Alex Banks

Seals  Sue Sayer

Cetaceans  Dan Jarvis, Duncan Jones & Colin Speedie

Fisheries, MPAs and Marine Spatial Planning  Sarah Clark

Litter, Plastics, Nurdles and Microplastics   Claire Wallerstein & Delia Webb

Development & Planning  Richard White

It can be downloaded here