The marine life that we have around Anglesey is incredibly abundant. There are so many varieties of fish and mammals that arrive at our shores, on their migratory cycles. The migratory cycles are so predictable you can set your watch by them. The watery world that surrounds our island is truly packed with life, whether its fish, seaweeds, crab, lobster, sea birds, jelly fish and shark, we have it all here on Anglesey.
Our shorelines are packed with wonderful sea birds (see our blog on sea birds of Anglesey) and our waters are packed full of the most amazing marine life you can find anywhere in the world. That is a statement we can boast, as a marine geologist and oceanographer of ten plus years I can attest to that. We see small examples of it in fleeting moments, when the dolphins or bigger mammals break surface, but mostly the magic is happening beneath the surface.
I have been blessed to have grown up on the shores of Anglesey on the beach every day exploring, crabbing and fishing as a little one. I was never far from the beach most days, mind you you are never far from a beach in general on Anglesey. Consequently you build up a sort of affinity ad knowledge base of the ocean thats very rich. Most was passed down to me by uncles and god fathers who honed my fishing skills and knowledge. We where lucky enough to have a lot of fishermen, boat builders, captains and light house keepers in my family which allows for a fairly strong nautical genealogy.
My love of the sea is something I can’t quite explain to most people, its a deep rooted knowing that the sea means home. I find that even more so when I’m living on a boat also. I don’t think I could ever imagine not living near a water body of some sort, I think it would feel far to strange.
We wanted to write you a little guide to the marine life on Anglesey and north Wales and if you are a beginner give you a a background on all things marine life to help you on your way. I will do more detailed blogs on each one of these in the future, but for now, I will give an over view of the most abundantly found species of each in Anglesey in the summer months, enjoy.
Rock pool life – what you can expect to find in rock pools on the shores of Anglesey Rock pools are a wonderful way to introduce children to the world of under water life, they are like little samples of what lies beneath the water. Here a few of the things you may find on your searches.
Sea anemone
Limpets
Blenny
Shrimps
Cockles
Sea grass
Barnacles
Star fish
Fish- what kinds of fish to expect on Anglesey in the summer months. There is a wonderful array of species to go for fishing on Anglesey for this summer here are a list of some of the migratory and non migratory species your likely to catch and see.
Mackerel
Herring
Ballan Wrasse
Corkwing Wrasse
Cuckoo Wrasse
Bass
Mullet
Pollock
Spring Codling
Gurnard Grey
Gurnard Red
Gurnard Tub
Plaice
Flounder
Dab
Turbot
Dog fish
Thorback ray
Spotted ray
Bull Huss
Crab / Crustaceans – what kind of crustaceans can we to expect to find on the coastline off Anglesey – Crab are plentiful around our coastline here, most of the migratory runs of the shark and bass come to feed on them. For the table though we only eat Edibles, Lobster and Spiders in this country.
Big edible crab
Spider crab
Green hard back crab
Velvet swimmer crab
Common Lobster
Shrimp
Molluscs – what kinds of molluscs can you expect to find on the beaches Anglesey. Molluscs from a vast part of the diet of most meditareenan countries, sadly in Anglesey we export most of our wonderful seafood abroad. So why not try some of these lovely seafoods.
Mussels
Cockle
Razor fish
Clam
Oyster
Sea weeds – what kinds of sea weeds can you expect to find on the beaches Anglesey. Packed full of minerals and Iodine seaweeds are an amazing addition to most diets. We have an abundance of them all along out intertidal shores, go check them out.
Kelp
Bladder wrack
Larva
Sea lettuce
Gut weed
Dulse
Carragheen
Seaside edible plants – what kinds of edible plants can you expect to find on the beaches Anglesey- Another over looked free meal. Seaside edibles are all the rage at present, why not invest in a course and book and start your foray trips whilst here on Anglesey?
Sea spinach
Sea kale
Sea Buckthorn
Wild cabbage
Sea Rocket
Samphire and rock samphire
Sea Holly
Dolphins and seals off the shores of Anglesey and north Wales. Spotted darting around the Celtic sea all summer long, Dolphins and their fellow friends are an integral part of our marine food chain. They are playful and incredibly smart and often come right into shallow bays to feed
Common Dolphin
Porpoise
Common seal
Grey seal
Sharks and Whales- what kinds of sharks and whales can we to expect to find on the beaches Anglesey. I have seen more and more sharks of late making their way past Anglesey, it can only mean marine life is thriving for them to be here.
Basking shark
Tope
Smoothhound
Minke whale
Orca
Jelly fish – what kinds of jelly fish can we to expect to find on the beaches Anglesey. Whilst out snorkelling most days I see all manner of jelly fish, some stingers and some without stingers. Here are some of the more common ones I see.
Moon Jelly fish
Lions maine
Compass
Blue Jelly fish
Portuguese man o war
Some of our favourite related books – As some of our readers know I’m a big book geek, most of these I already have in my library or similar. I can’t recommend reading some of these enough to get an understanding of the British coastline.
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