Marine life

What nicer way to burn off some Christmas calories than spending the morning at the beach?

Homemade delights and Christmas gifts to raise money for Scottish Seabird Centre.

Scottish Natural Heritage’s Isle of May reported an increased numbers of visitors and a few unusual ones this passed season.

Celebrity tycoon Donald Trump lives up to his billing as a crass egomaniac in You've Been Trumped, a compelling, 95-minute documentary revealing Trump's bullyboy antics as he bulldozes a sensitive coastal ecosystem near Aberdeen to create a mega golf resort.

According to the Marine Conservation Society, Scotland had the highest average litter levels in the UK of six out of the seven sewage-related debris items: condoms, cotton bud sticks, nappies, tampons/tampon applicators, toilet fresheners, and sanitary towels/pantyliners/backing strips.

It’s puffins galore on the Isle of May at the moment. Scottish Natural Heritage’s special seabird event is sure to be awash with these colourful characters, as well as other birds.

Leave it to the wonks at DEFRA to come up with an answer to one of life's imponderables: what is the true value of nature? The short answer, outlined in a new report entitled the UK National Ecosystem Assessment, is that "nature is worth billions of pounds to the UK economy."

What nicer way to spend a summer morning than at the beach? The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) will be holding a beach clean at Cramond on Saturday 11th June from 10am-12noon, and all are welcome.

All hands on deck for this community clean-up of the popular, sandy Belhaven Beach. This volunteer event is being run by Surfers Against Sewage, with support from Barefoot wines, as part of a UK beach cleaning tour of 14 beaches between May and September.

Bathing season may have arrived late this year, but with hotter weeks expected, now is the time to consider what beaches to head for.

In spite of planning permission setbacks, Donald Trump has forged ahead with his plans for building a golf course resort on the wild estate at Menie on the North East coast of Scotland.

The programme for 2012 has still to be announced but expect over 200 educational and interactive activities for the wee ones, and lectures and talks for older heads in 40 or so venues across town.

Scientists investigating the mysterious spate of fatal ‘corkscrew’ injuries to seals in the UK believe that boats are to blame.

Annual open days on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve (NNR). The day is free and a privately operated boat service from Anstruther harbour in the East Neuk of Fife has been subsidised by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) for these special days.

Less litter has been found on Scottish beaches in 2009 than in the previous year, according to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Beachwatch Big Weekend 2009 report. It also reveals that while total litter has increased by 77% since the first Beachwatch in 1994, plastic litter has increased by a staggering 121% in the UK.

This year's theme "Biodiversity and Development" is a thorny one considering that the biggest threat to biodiversity is (surprise!) from human growth and development.

Up to 30 stalls wil be congregated under the canvas of 3 Harbours Seafood Festival village selling cooked and raw seafood and related goods over Saturday and Sunday. The East Lothian festival, which sprung from the 10-day 3 Harbours Art Festival, celebrates the sea and coastline of Cockenzie, Port Seton and Prestonpans.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has recommended 41 Scottish bathing beaches for excellent water quality in its annual Good Beach Guide. This is just over one third of the 109 tested and 3 less than it recommended last year.

As of 2009, the U.N. has declared 8 June as officially World Oceans Day across the globe each year. This year's theme is "one ocean, one climate, one future."

An annual survey by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has found that rubbish on British beaches has increased 110% since 1994, and beaches in Scotland are dirtiest of them all.

The (MCS) Beachwatch Survey found that on average there were 2,195 litter items per kilometre on British beaches compared to 1,045 items/km in 1994. The army of 5,219 volunteers across the U.K. found more plastics than ever in the survey, conducted over the weekend of 20th and 21st September 2008.