About Seasearch

 

Dive into conservation -

Any dive can be a Seasearch dive!

Image by Rob Spray  

Who are the Seasearch Coordinators?

Our History

Seasearch was created by Dr Bob Earll (then Head of Conservation at the Marine Conservation Society) and Dr Roger Mitchell (then Head of the Marine Science Branch of the Nature Conservancy Council) in the mid-1980s. They realised that there was a growing number of non-professional divers whose enthusiasm and knowledge could be extremely valuable for UK marine conservation.

Throughout the 1990s, Seasearch was run by the Marine Conservation Society and much of the recording took place off the west coast of Scotland. There were also active local projects in Wales, Sussex and Dorset.

These projects were so successful that in 1999 a steering group was formed to expand the project on a national basis. The group comprised conservation organisations, NGO’s (including the Marine Conservation Society), dive training associations and independent experts.

Seasearch had a big boost in 2003 when it received new funding from The Heritage Lottery Fund. This led to the appointment of a National Co-ordinator and a network of local co-ordinators. The project rapidly expanded, with more training courses, dives and events taking place than ever before.

Since then the project has gone from strength to strength. Seasearch data has directly contributed to the identification of numerous sites throughout Britain and Ireland as Marine Conservation Zones and Marine Protected Areas. As of 2021, the Seasearch dataset consisted of almost 800,000 habitat and species records, all of which are publicly available through the National Biodiversity Network.

Meet the Seasearch Team

Charlotte Bolton

Currently National Coordinator (previously Dorset Regional Coordinator) and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Angus Jackson

Seasearch Data Officer

Contact: [email protected] 

ML Anderson

Seasearch Programme Administrator

Contact: [email protected] 

Scotland

Iain Dixon

Joint Seasearch Scotland coordinator (along with Paul Kay) and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Paul Kay

Joint Seasearch Scotland coordinator (along with Iain Dixon)

Contact: [email protected]

Owen Paisley

Seasearch West Scotland coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Karen Boswarva

Seasearch Orkney/Shetland coordinator and tutor, Seasearch Scotland social media lead

Contact: [email protected]

Northern Ireland and Isle of Man

Claire Casey

Seasearch Northern Ireland Coordinator

Contact: [email protected]

Lara Howe

Isle of Man Co-ordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Wales

Holly Date

Seasearch North Wales coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Winter Dotto

Joint Seasearch South and West Wales coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Matt Green

Joint Seasearch South and West Wales coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

England

Kerry Rennie

Seasearch NW England coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Dawn Watson

Seasearch East Anglia coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Sarah Ward

Sussex coordinator

Contact: [email protected]

Mike Rushworth

Assistant for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area

Contact: [email protected]

Lin Baldock

Seasearch Dorset, Hants & IOW coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Chris Webb

Seasearch Devon coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Matt Slater

Seasearch Cornwall coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]

Channel Islands

Mel Broadhurst-Allen

Seasearch Alderney coordinator

Contact: [email protected]

George McLellan

Seasearch Guernsey coordinator

Contact: [email protected]

Kevin McIlwee

Seasearch Jersey coordinator and tutor

Contact: [email protected]