Sussex Wildlife Trust wants £100,000 to keep its divers and shore surveys going

Sussex Wildlife Trust^1,2,3 has launched a Marine Appeal to raise £100,000 for its two volunteer survey schemes: Seasearch, where divers and snorkellers record wildlife and habitats under the water, and Shoresearch, which surveys the county’s shores and beaches. The appeal page shows £33,761 raised so far.

The money buys evidence. The Trust says Seasearch evidence has contributed to securing protection for Sussex’s nine Marine Conservation Zones. Sarah Ward, the Trust’s marine conservation officer, said the zones “now cover 22 per cent of Sussex seas”, in comments reported by the Argus⁴, which first covered the appeal.

“Nature can’t speak for itself in decision-making rooms, but evidence can,” she said. With more money, she added, the Trust could “train more divers, keep survey boats in the water and gather the evidence we need to influence decisions.”

Gaps in data weaken the Trust’s campaigning, it says. The number of trained Seasearch divers has fallen by nearly half since the pandemic, and hiring a boat now costs around £750 a day.

What’s off our coast

Some of the best chalk reef in Sussex lies between Brighton and Eastbourne, and further out it runs in patches from Brighton to Shoreham. Chalk makes up less than 1% of Britain’s coastline, and more than half of that is in Sussex and Kent. Over a third of the county’s coastal chalk has been altered by sea defences and other engineering, the Trust says.

The Trust has also argued against dumping dredged material from Brighton Marina in the Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone, which has short-snouted seahorses and chalk reef. And it says its evidence helped bring in the trawling restrictions that let kelp start to come back off the Sussex coast (our explainer on the kelp).

Getting involved

Shoresearch runs surveys in spring and summer, usually two to three hours long, and takes beginners who learn alongside experienced volunteers. Brighton Marina East and Newhaven are among the sites on its current list. The Trust’s kit list includes wellies, waterproof trousers and a hand lens if you have one. To join, email livingseas@sussexwt.org.uk.