May 26th - 30th 2012
With calm sea’s and perfect sunshine the majority of Inishowen’s Monster Munch community schools have successfully completed their vessel survey days. The perfect sea conditions ensured a gentle introduction for the youngsters to the field work of a marine biologist and the marine environment.
Rathmullan Charters and Inishowen Boating welcomed aboard the budding marine biologists, who undertook the survey methods they had developed during the five month long awareness programme. Plankton sampling, Observation transects and Secci disk deployment were amongst the tasks carried out with great enthusiasm, as students got a chance to survey their own local stretch of coastline.
Students watched the shorelines and cliff tops slip by to the soundtrack of skippers Sessile Brown and Charlie Lafferty recounting stories of adventurous fishing escapades and local tidal currents. Unfortunately no sharks presented themselves during the surveys but numerous animal species and oceanographic features were recorded throughout the surveys. Sharks are late in arriving on the north coast this year. The end of May and early June is usually the peak sightings period. Plankton sampling has revealed that the density is below usual levels, which may account for the lack of sightings. Culdaff school will complete their vessel survey day on Wed 6thJune.