2025
South West Marine Fest
We invite you to join our Annual Summer Conference in Brixham this October, hosted by Conservation Chat UK LTD.
As specialists in organizing environmentally focused events, we’re dedicated to creating gatherings that place the natural world at the forefront, with a special focus on our local region, the Southwest of England.
This event will feature an inspiring lineup of guest speakers involved in species conservation. If you share our passion for the environment, don’t miss this opportunity! The day will be packed with insightful presentations, engaging discussions, and valuable networking, tailored for conservation professionals, students, early-career researchers, and anyone passionate about the natural world.
Light refreshments will be provided. To keep ticket costs affordable, we ask attendees to bring a packed lunch—and challenge you to make it plastic-free!
This will be an in-person event only, with a full refund policy in place if the event must be cancelled due to covid-19.
Speakers
Dr Marie Hale
Surfing identities in Newquay – evolutions and contemporary trajectories
This presentation explores the evolving identity and environmental consciousness of Newquay’s surfing community, examining surfers' deepening ethical and spiritual connections with the ocean. Using Newquay as a case study, researchers analyze how local surfers' identities reflect a blend of tradition and modern environmental awareness, influenced by a romantic view of nature and the ocean as blurred spaces between culture and nature. Guided by Bryce et al.’s framework—place-based identity, experiences, and capabilities—the study focuses on the surfers’ sense of belonging, responsibility toward the ocean, and their embodied environmental actions.
The research also considers the possibility of a World Surfing Reserve to protect the surf experience and its socio-economic and ecological contributions. Using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a lens, the study aims to understand how Newquay's surf culture intersects with broader environmental and social sustainability issues. Based on focus groups across age and gender, the study recognizes diversity within the surfing community and considers the intertidal zones as sites where politics, environment, and culture converge, particularly as surfers engage in activism, such as with Surfers Against Sewage. The presentation ultimately examines the evolving “blue” identity of Newquay surfers and how local practices resonate with global environmental values.
Cam Molland
AK Wildlife Cruises: Education, Conservation, Protection
AK Wildlife Cruises splits our goals into three key areas: education, conservation and protection.
Education through our wildlife-watching trips, conservation by encouraging people to act, and protection through the strategic deployment of the scientific data we collect. One thing that makes us fairly unique is that we combine guest experience with scientific research. Our boat (R/V Spirit of Our Seas) is a registered research and marine survey vessel and, as we like to say, we record everything from bumblebees to blue whales!
When guests step aboard, they become citizen scientists for the day, and just be being there to help us collect vital data. We have been collecting cetacean sightings and occurrence data for 26 years, giving us one of the longest boat-based survey datasets of this kind in the UK! We also run photo ID catalogues for minke whales and Risso’s dolphins, and over the years have recorded some incredible sightings; from a striped X common dolphin hybrid, to our annual fin whale visits, and even bow-riding pilot whales.
We like to think we are rather unique, and would be delighted if you would like to learn more about what we do at this talk!
Margot Morel
Advancing shark conservation through medical training and feeding-time conditioning
In zoo settings, routine veterinary care of sharks poses unique challenges due to their large size, aquatic environment, and natural aversion to handling. This presentation describes a conditioning program implemented at Budapest Zoo to train various shark species for essential medical procedures using feeding times as an opportunity for positive reinforcement. The primary objective was to reduce stress and improve compliance during medical interventions, allowing for non-invasive health assessments, wound care, and therapeutic administration without the need for capture. Sharks were trained using a target-based system, responding to specific cues that encouraged controlled movement and positioning. Over a six-month period, sharks demonstrated increased tolerance to proximity and handling by trained staff, enabling safer interactions and more frequent health checks. This program underscores the efficacy of behavioural training in enhancing shark welfare and care efficiency, offering a model that may be adapted in other aquatic facilities aiming to improve the standard of health monitoring and treatment in large marine animals.
Beyond immediate welfare benefits, this topic holds conservation significance. Conditioning allows for in-depth health monitoring and data collection, contributing critical insights into the health status and needs of species under threat. As many shark populations face pressure from habitat loss and overfishing, the success of these programs in managed care settings bolsters species conservation by promoting longevity and reproductive success. This approach offers a model adaptable to other facilities, enhancing the standard of care and support for conservation goals in marine species.
Luke Bullus
Intro to Fathom Free and Ghost Gear
Luke Bullus is the Diving Officer and a trustee of the marine conservation charity Fathoms Free. Passionate about the marine environment, Luke dedicates most of his free time to ghost gear recovery operations and ocean conservation.
Fathoms Free is a group of experienced volunteer divers, and skippers committed to protecting marine wildlife and the environment. They focus on removing ALDFG (abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear) and other marine debris from the coastal waters of Cornwall and Devon. ALDFG, often referred to as "ghost gear", continues to "fish" by entangling, trapping, and killing wildlife indiscriminately.
Since its inception in 2014, Fathoms Free has led initiatives to remove these hazardous materials from the ocean, preventing further damage to the marine environment. The charity also collaborates with and supports other organisations by using its boats and experienced skippers to assist with conservation efforts that contribute to a cleaner, safer ocean for everyone. Over the past decade, Fathoms Free has become a leading advocate for healthier oceans, inspiring collective action to protect marine ecosystems for future generations.
Megan Ross
Blue Meadows - Introducing Citizen Science to Seagrass Conservation in the South West
Seagrass creates extraordinary ecosystems brimming with life, capable of protecting coastlines from storms and acting as a vital carbon store. Classed as one of the most rapidly declining habitats across the globe, this fragile ecosystem is most heavily affected by physical damage, including anchoring and dredging, and poor water quality.
This talk will introduce Blue Meadows as a holistic approach to seagrass conservation, encompassing protection methods, restoration at scale and empowering local communities to connect with and take action for the protection of their local seagrass meadows. We will explore how people can actively contribute to seagrass conservation in the South West, through Blue Meadows water user surveys.
Stuart Collier
Banished Baijis to Vanishing Vaquita
Stuart is co-founder of Operation Cetacean and Conservation Chat UK Ltd, he is an experienced lecturer with a passion for sustainability and species conservation. This presentation is personal, Stu first heard of the Baiji whilst learning about conservation at University, the story of the Baiji would change his life and career direction- how could a planet full of dolphin lovers allow this to happen? How did we get it so wrong? And how is it still happening? The ‘white finned’ dolphin (Baiji) is thought to be the first dolphin to become extinct as a direct consequence of human activity. Unfortunately, it is happening again with the Vaquita (the world’s most endangered marine mammal). This presentation will discuss the plight of both species, the causes of their demise and look at what is being done to help the vaquita.