2018/06/08 Reiff Kelp and Andy’s Octopus

In June our weeklong survey focused on setting up maerl transects in some of the locations we filmed in 2016 as well as filming and documenting other habitats in the Summer Isles. The Sea Change Wester Ross, SCFF and SubSeaTV collaboration got expanded as Andy invited two Marine Scientists to join us to help us set up 25 meter maerl surveys. However we needed to have some exploratory dives to break up the dutiful focus on photographing maerl quadrats. Sara from Sea Change Wester Ross had used a drop down camera in 2015 to explore Reiff and had seen what looked like a blue mussel bed. A priority marine feature. She wanted to return to check. Dr Graham Saunders and Marine Scientist Lewis Press and Andy went to explore. Whilst Andy focused on looking for octopus in creels as he wanted to tell the story of naughty octopus’s eating the fishermen’s prawns and crabs by following the creel ropes to get the next meal - Graham was more interested in photographing the tiny species covering this pristine habitat. He filmed lush kelp forests and masses of herringbone hydroids, feather stars and lightbulb squirts, and all manner of species. Sara Nason created a film which tells the story of the whole survey week called ‘An Underwater Ecosystem & Flowers of the Sea Forest’.

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Video by Andy Jackson

Video by Andy Jackson

Video by Andy Jackson