This article was published in the spring 2001 issue of the Seaquest South-West Newsletter. Seaquest S.W. is jointly run by the Devon and Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Sadly, the strandings database continues to grow, with a very large number of cetaceans, seals and birds reported, dead, in the year 2000. Indeed the total of whale, dolphin and porpoise casualties on Cornish beaches reached 73, the largest number since the huge death toll of 1992193 when there were about 130. Then, as in all years since, they have been mostly common dolphins, the majority of which come to grief in the great nets used by midwater trawlers - even more effective in catching huge draughts of fishes when they work in pairs.
Evolution selects all life-forms for efficiency, and humans are no exception.
Humans are intelligent enough to know that restraint is essential, but it goes against all natural tendencies to put this into practice. In November, Matt Stribley found the bones of all three species of cuttlefish on Perranporth Beach. Many reports reach Seaquest as casual observations as people are walking the coastline, but there is a very valuable contribution to be made by those who record everything on a beach or beaches on a regular basis. The importance of this grows with the years. Any unusual sightings such as fin whales, leather back turtles, large concentrations of basking sharks etc.