Tuesday, 02 March 2010

UNUSUAL SPECIES PLOTTED ON NAFC WEBSITE

The NAFC Marine Centre has introduced a new section to its website – the Discovery Zone – at www.nafc.ac.uk, in which unusual marine species caught by local fishermen or found by members of the public in and around the seas of Shetland are identified.

The Discovery Zone includes a Google Map, which plots where species were found, and site visitors can also find further information about the vessel or person which found the species and brought it to the Centre for identification, as well as photos of the sea creature in question.

NAFC Marine Centre shellfish scientist, Dr Richard Shelmerdine, has been co-ordinating the new addition to the website.  “Fishermen and members of the public often drop along with a find they have discovered in their nets, or while walking along the shore, and we’re more than happy to try to identify the species. I think this new section on the website will prove a great point of interest and people will find it fascinating to see the wealth of sea life that often goes unnoticed around our shores.

“Clearly the more data we can add to the site the more valuable it will become and we look forward to building on this educational resource in the future.”

Further information:

For further information, please contact: Dr Richard Shelmerdine, NAFC Marine Centre, tel 01595 772000, email richard.shelmerdine@nafc.uhi.ac.uk or visit www.nafc.ac.uk

Or, Louise Rosie, Shaw Marketing and Design Ltd, tel 01595 692465, email louise.rosie@shaw-online.com or visit www.shaw-online.com