Marine Life

In Cumbria, the coast and the sea often tend to be overshadowed by the lakes and mountains of the inland areas but this stretch of the Irish Sea contains some fascinating marine life.

In terms of Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) there have been 12 species recorded off the North West coast since 1980 with St Bees Head being one of the sighting 'hotspots'.  The twelve species recorded are: Minke whale, Fin whale, Sei whale, Sperm whale, Northern Bottlenose whale, Long-finned pilot whale, White-beaked dolphin, Striped dolphin, Risso's dolphin, Bottlenose dolphin, Short-beaked common dolphin and Harbour porpoise.  In 2006 Marra, a bottlenose dolphin hit the national headlines after taking up residence in Maryport harbour, about 12 miles up the coast from Whitehaven.

This stretch of the coast is also home to Basking sharks, Common seals and Atlantic seals.  Boat trips are available from Whitehaven harbour.

The shoreline itself offers a variety of habitats; sand and shingle beaches, wave cut platforms and boulders, rock pools, crevices and overhangs.  These different environments play host to a variety of seashore plants and creatures; Breadcrumb sponge, numerous types of seaweeds, Beadlet and Dahlia anemones, periwinkles, mussels, whelks, limpets and barnacles, at least five different varieties of crab, starfish and prawns amongst others.

Whilst the level of commercial fishing off the Cumbrian coast has declined over recent decades there are still around 90 vessels registered and fishing out of local ports.  A wide range of fish and shellfish are harvested from the area including langoustine, plaice, skate, cod, whiting, brown shrimp, lobster, brown crab, mussel, cockle, winkle and whelk.  Sea fishing from the beach or off Whitehaven harbour is a popular activity with both locals and people travelling from further a field.

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