The Wildlife Trusts campaign to protect Cornwall’s marine life

Reports from the latest Met Office figures suggest the UK experienced its fifteenth hottest summer since 1910 this year!

That's certainly backed up by the range of marine life spotted frolicking in the bays around our self catering accommodation. Bottlenose dolphins, minke whales and basking sharks regularly sought the warmer inshore waters, much to the delight of visitors on their self catering holidays.  

The Wildlife Trusts are now campaigning for the Government to set up protected zones off the Cornish coast for these beautiful species.

The Cornish coastline has been identified as a safe haven and crucial “hotspot” for feeding and breeding.

The charity is now campaigning for protected areas which specifically target these animals in order to fill a “missing link” in the UK's current conservation programme.

The Wildlife Trust's head of Living Seas, Joan Edwards, said: “Many people are surprised to discover that in the waters surrounding our shores you could encounter29 different species of whale, dolphin and porpoise and the world's second largest shark – the basking shark.

“The UK has made huge advances in marine conservation in recent years but there is still a significant job to do. Our marine megafauna are still under threat.

“There's an urgent need to create protected areas at sea for our ocean giants and ensure a network of sites to safeguard these species for generations to come.”

The trust's Save Our Ocean Giants report warned that larger marine animals were “acutely vulnerable” to commercial fishing, pollution and other human activities.

The charity has launched a campaign to get 17 “megafauna hotspots” where the animals converge to feed, breed and socialise designated as marine protected areas.

For more information and to do your bit by signing The Wildlife Trusts' e-petition, visit www.wildlifetrusts.org/oceangiants.