Shark species conservation project on Welsh coasts
Project SIARC wants people of all ages to get involved
We’re being asked to get involved in protecting and learning more about Wales’s rarest species, including the critically-endangered Angelshark.
Project SIARC (Sharks Inspiring Action and Research with Communities) says people of all ages can dive into marine conservation and learn about the extraordinary sharks, skates and rays living in Welsh coastal waters.
Its being launched today by the Zoological Society London (ZSL) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
Project SIARC is enlisting the help of fishers, schoolchildren, researchers and citizen scientists from across Wales to better understand some of the more unusual coastal species
There are 26 species of sharks, skates and rays around the Welsh coast- a group known as elasmobranchs but little is known about their biology and ecology.
Community engagement and research will be focused at two Special Areas of Conservation (SAC): ‘Pen Llŷn a’r Sarnau’ and ‘Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries.
Project SIARC is also offering free in-person and online opportunities, from learning how to identify elasmobranch egg cases, to helping detect sharks in underwater video footage, and scouring archives for historical information.
Joanna Barker, Project SIARC Senior Project Manager, ZSL said:
“We are delighted to launch Project SIARC with our partner organisations to showcase the incredible elasmobranchs found in Wales.
“Project SIARC combines biological and social sciences to address critical data gaps for elasmobranchs in Wales whilst generating a new appreciation for the underwater marine environment.
“Underwater world to your doorstep”
“Currently, few people in Wales can witness these amazing species first-hand, but we hope that the Project SIARC citizen science opportunities, school engagement programme and outreach will bring the underwater world to your doorstep and enable a wider range of people to be involved in marine conservation in Wales.”
Several organisations are helping to deliver Project SIARC, including Bangor University, Blue Abacus, North Wales Wildlife Trust, Swansea University and The Shark Trust. It is also supported by an additional nine organisations that sit on the Project SIARC Steering Group.
Schools involved
School children are also encouraged to get involved. Project SIARC will scale up the success of online “meet the scientist” sessions from Angel Shark Project: Wales, to reach thirty schools across Wales.
Mr Griffiths, Headteacher at Ysgol Gynradd Nantgaredig said:
“We are very excited to get involved in Project SIARC, it will be extremely valuable for our year five class to learn about sharks, skates and rays living off our local beaches.
"It will enable the children to really connect with the environment around them and understand how much we all rely on the natural world.”
The project has received a £390,000 grant from the Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Fund which was delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as a £180,997 National Lottery grant from National Lottery Heritage Fund and £40,000 grant from On the Edge.