Explore the seashore with the M

arine Conservation Society

Stretching around 16,000km, the

coastline around the British Isles is a huge playground for everyone to enjoy.

Follow the M

CS Seashore Code and enjoy the coast, w

ithout harm to

yourself or wildlife.

Photos supplied by: Paul Naylor, Jack Sew

ell/MBA

, Fiona Crouch, Richard H

arrington/MCS, Ryan Tow

nley/MCS, Jo Jam

ieson, Sean Clark, A

ndy Hay/RSPB-Im

ages, Nola Barker,

Andy Pearson, A

lan Jones and Stuart Askew

.

Seashore illustration: Claire H

amm

ond (clairieham@

hotmail.com

) w

ww

.claire-hamm

ond.co.uk

Produced with generous support from

516-2016

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© M

arine Conservation Society (MCS) 2016. A

ll rights reserved. Registered Charity N

o: 1004005 (England & W

ales); SC037480 (Scotland).Com

pany Limited by G

uarantee No: 2550966.

Registered in England VAT No: 489 1505 17.

Marine Conservation Society,

Overross H

ouse, Ross Park, Ross-on-Wye

Herefordshire H

R9 7QQ

01989 566 017 W

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w.m

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Seashore Safari Guide

Seashore CodeExplore responsibly

Leave animals w

here you � nd them.

Carefully lift and replace any rocks you m

ove and leave attached seaweed in

place.

Seashells nurture an interest in nature am

ongst children, so if you want to take a

couple home only take em

pty open shells (like lim

pets and mussels) and leave the

shells that can provide a home for herm

it crabs (like w

helks and periwinkles).

Keep it tidyTake your rubbish hom

e - don’t bury it or burn it.

Poop scoop your dog’s waste then bin it

responsibly.

Watch with careW

atch quietly from a distance, especially

near birds and seals with pups.

Control your dog and keep it on a lead near birds and seals.

Mind your stepKeep to established paths and dune boardw

alks.

If you dig holes in the beach, please � ll them

up again.

Don’t clim

b up or go near the top or bottom

of a cli� .

Check tide times to avoid being cut o� .

Keep away from

soft sand and mud, and

beware of slippery rocks.

Keep it tidy

© N Fryatt

© Stuart Askew

© Stuart Askew

© Stuart Askew

© Stuart Askew

© Paul NaylorProt

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Marine

life sig

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scheme

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bask

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csuk

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to fi

nd

out h

ow.

© Paul Webster

Explore the seashore with the Marine Conservation Society

BARNACLES These animals live upside down, permanently stuck to the rock with their legs sticking upwards ready to catch drifting food.

COMMON LIMPET A snail with a homing instinct! It grazes on algae while the tide is in and returns to the same spot, called a home scar, when the tide retreats.

SLIPPER LIMPET Accidentally introduced to England from North America and now found in huge numbers. It has no predators in Europe.

COCKLE Cockles spot predators using their many antennae and eyes. By extending their ‘leg’ outside the shell, they can jump around 10cm.

RAZORSHELL Shaped like an old-fashioned cut throat razor, these animals live buried end-up in the sand.

DOG WHELK Meat-eating sea snails that drill holes into limpets, turn their insides into soup and suck up the yummy contents!

COMMON WHELK A large edible sea snail, twice the size of the dog whelk, the empty shell makes a good home for hermit crabs so please leave these shells on the shore.

COMMON WHELK EGG CASES Pu� y balls of white eggcases laid by the common whelk. Used to be used by sailors as wash balls!

CUTTLEBONE Cuttle� sh aren’t � sh at all, but are molluscs related to squid and octopus. This structure once gave the shape to the cuttle� sh body.

SEA POTATO A heart shaped sea urchin adapted for burrowing. It lives just below the surface on clean sand.

MERMAID’S PURSE Egg cases of dog� sh, skates and rays, which attach to seaweed with entwining tendrils and often wash up once the animals have hatched.

COMMON STARFISH The familiar � ve arms and usual orange colour are unmistakable. They move with their tube feet and eat with their stomachs inside out!

HORNWRACK Remains of a colony of hundreds of tiny animals called bryozoans, or ‘moss animals’. It has a distinctive lemon-like smell when fresh.

BLADDERWRACK The small air-� lled bladders along the fronds help this seaweed to � oat towards the surface of the water to photosynthesise.

KELP HOLDFAST Curious oddments that can look like skeleton sections, but each is simply the holdfast, or ‘roots’ of large seaweeds known as kelp.

DUNLIN The dunlin is the most widespread and common wader in Europe. It has a slightly down-curved bill and a black belly patch in breeding plumage.

SANDERLING These birds can be spotted running up and down the shore as each wave comes in. A winter visitor to the UK.

HERRING GULL These cheeky fellows with the red spot on their beaks are found along most coasts and are easily attracted by a bag of chips!

OYSTERCATCHER Striking black and white plumage with long bright orange-red bills, oystercatchers eat a third of their body weight every day.

SNAKELOCKS ANEMONE These anemones can have up to 200 tentacles! Their tentacles remain out all of the time, they don’t retract them like other anemones.

BEADLET ANEMONE Has a band of “beads” around the top of its body, hence the name. When the tide goes out they retract their tentacles so they won’t dry out.

BRITTLESTAR These guys have a small central disk and long slender arms which they can self-amputate if being attacked and then regrow once the wound heals.

PINK SEA FAN SKELETON Although they look like plants, pink sea fans are actually colonies of coral that are made up of animals whose hard skeletons run through the fan.

PAINTED TOP SHELL A tall shell with stripes of purple and white in a striking conical shape. The body of this “snail” is also colourfully � ecked with purple, red and brown.

PURPLE /FLAT TOP SHELL This shell is a � attish cone shape with stripes of reddish purple.

COMMON SHORE CRAB A common rock pool or shallow water species. Males have a triangular shape on their stomachs - females a semi-circular shape.

SANDHOPPER This shrimplike creature lives amongst seaweeds on the beach, they are found hopping around when the tide is out.

MOON JELLYFISH Mostly harmless, though may sting sensitive skin. Jelly� sh are the favourite food of the leatherback turtle.

EDIBLE CRAB This pinkish brown crab has chunky claws and its shell looks like a pastry crust.

ROCK GOBY Gobies are often confused with blennies but they have two distinctly separate � ns on their backs whereas blennies only have one back (dorsal) � n.

VELVET SWIMMING CRAB Its upper shell has a feeling of soft velvet and its blood red eyes and aggressive demeanor have given it the common name “Devil Crab”.

COMMON BLENNY These � sh can change colour to blend in with their surroundings. They have sharp teeth for crunching barnacles o� rocks.

Seashore Safari Guide

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