A survey of what’s in and around Swanage Bay in Dorset, is taking place as part of an action plan to increase awareness of our marine life and improve it for the future.
Called a bioblitz, the survey, supported by eco group Sustainable Swanage, ran over the weekend Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th August 2025 and will also be happening Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th August 2025.
Swanage town councillor Cliff Sutton (left) with Lucinda Neall (centre) from Sustainable Swanage, and Maria Munn dressed as a shark, providing information about the bioblitz
Results collated on a map
Everyone is invited to get involved, by taking photos of the sealife they find in and round Swanage Bay and posting them on the iNaturalist website.
The iNaturalist website collates all the finds and puts them on a map for everyone to view.
While there’s a focus over two weekends, the hope is people will get the bug and continue to post pictures of their finds throughout the year.
Colourful seaweed
Plenty of crabs to be found off Swanage’s stone quay
“Get everyone talking about seaweed, insects, fish and plants”
Swanage Town Council visitor services manager Culvin Milmer said:
“So what’s a bioblitz? The way it was explained to me is when you stand on Swanage seafront and look out to sea, the surface of the water can look a bit like grey concrete and we just don’t see what is in the sea, but it’s really teeming with life.
“So the idea is to record all the evidence we can find which tells us what is in and around Swanage Bay. Of course it’s great if deep sea divers can go down and take pictures but also, there’s plenty to find just washed up on the shore.
“We also want to record the wildlife around the bay, so that can include birds and plants, which means most of us can easily get involved.
“It’s a chance to get everyone talking about seaweed, insects, fish and plants, which builds greater awareness and hopefully greater appreciation of the diversity of our local sealife.”
Home for some sealife
A herring gull is easy to spot but there are other birds on the beach which are more unusual
The bone of a cuttlefish is evidence of more exotic species living in our bay
Motion for the Ocean
The bioblitz is part of the Motion for the Ocean action plan that was approved by councillors at Swanage Town Council’s environment committee in June 2025.
A Motion for the Ocean – or an ocean recovery declaration – seeks to help all local governments, both coastal and inland, identify ways they can support a more ecologically healthy sea and to rethink how the ocean is taken into account in their planning and decision making.
As well as organising a bioblitz, actions can include working with partners to improve water quality, working with the fishing industry to improve sustainability, taking measures to reduce litter getting into the sea, giving children the chance to experience the ocean first hand, and lobbying the government on the issues it can influence like strengthening regulations around single use plastics.
There’s a whole new world living below Swanage Pier
A huge variety of seaweed is to be discovered including this wonderful specimen
Further information
- To take part visit the iNaturalist website and create an account
- There’s a dedicated page for Swanage’s bioblitz or drop in to the Swanage Information Centre on Shore Road to find out more
