A look at the work of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue

When I speak to Martin Gillett of British Divers Marine Life Rescue, he is actually in the middle of a rescue at Hayling Island.

‘We are monitoring an adult seal that has hauled out to have a rest. I am liaising with the public, making sure that dogs don’t get too close and everyone keeps a distance. It allows the seal time to rest, ready for when the tide comes in and it can go back out again.’

Understandably, as it’s not an every day occurrence, everyone is keen to see these beautiful creatures and social media soon spreads the word.

Martin Gillett with seal pup Doxipoo. (Image: Martin Gillett)

‘Once it hits social media you get crowds of people, but I can’t blame them. It’s a great sight. If people don’t know that there is a seal about and a dog is off the lead it can run up to the seal and distress it.’

Sadly, this was the case with a 10-month seal pup named Freddie that popped up in the Thames in 2021 and delighted onlookers with its antics. ‘It had to be put down because of bite marks from a dog that had attacked it,’ says Martin who lives in Totton.

The 36-year-old, a mechanic by trade, was compelled to join the charity after seeing a porpoise washed up on Perranporth beach while body boarding in Cornwall.

‘I decided to research about marine mammals and stumbled across BDMLR,' he remembers. 'I signed up for a marine medic training course back in 2017. Since then, I have been an active medic within the Hampshire area responding to various call outs, and last year became a volunteer area coordinator responsible for raising awareness within the area and coordinating rescues.’

Martin has trained with the BDMLR Marine Mammal Medic Course who prepare people for rescues around the UK coastline. (Image: Gavin Parsons)

The charity was originally founded in 1988 by a group of divers in response to the Phocine Distemper Virus outbreak affecting seals in the North Sea. The RSPCA didn’t have the capability to rescue them, so the group worked with the charity to bring the seals in for rehabilitation. Since then, the BDMLR has been involved in thousands of rescues. Last year it received 3138 call outs attended by over 3000 volunteers.

Although the charity was founded by divers, you do not have to be a qualified diver to join, most of the rescues are done in shallow water. The course, attended by over 1,000 volunteers each year, covers marine biology and handling the different rescue equipment including whale and dolphin pontoons.

Although not as busy as places like Norfolk and Cornwall, the Hampshire group play an important role and have had some notable visitors including Thor the Walrus who arrived in Calshot in early December 2022.

Thor the walrus (Image: Steve Blanchard)

‘We believe he had spent the summer in Dieppe and had been on a bit of a tour around Europe. When I got a call I was doing a Santa Run up in Salisbury, luckily before I got to Calshot, I was able to change. Thor spent a number of hours resting just short of the lifeboat slip.’

Thor was thought to be an Atlantic walrus, a rare sight in the UK and was regaining its strength before making is next journey.

‘It was very interesting and exciting, I never thought I would see a walrus in the UK.’

A grey seal being monitored on the beach at Hayling Island. (Image: Martin Gillett)

In England, call outs for the charity tend to be for seals but up in Scotland they get strandings of pilot whales. ‘Speed is the essence. We have to wait for the tide as they are such a big mammal you can’t just pick them up and move them. It is a real team effort.’

Whales have also made the occasional appearance in the Thames. ‘It is hard to rescue them because they have what I like to call in-built satellite navigation systems, but they don’t understand that the Thames doesn’t go all the way through to the other side of the country. They will quite often go up inlets that are not big enough. Here in Hampshire we do get the odd dolphin and last year I was called out to a pair that had become stranded in the mud flats at Hayling Island.’

Although calls have increased over the past few years, Martin feels that this is due to public awareness with stories of both Thor and Benny the beluga whale sighted in the Thames capturing people’s attention.

Thor the walrus. (Image: Steve Blanchard)

When the team are called out, they assess they animal’s condition and wellbeing, calling on a network of specialist vets who then make the decision as to whether the animal is in good enough condition to be refloated. Martin explains: ‘We have specialist pontoons and have a technique of moving the animals onto it, it’s then a case of waiting for the tide to come back in and walking the animal out on the pontoon. We will also liaise with the lifeboat crews, if the water becomes too deep, the lifeboat crew will assist us.

‘Back in January we had a seal pup abandoned on the Isle of Wight. The medic team rescued it and I drove it down to Exeter to meet one of our Cornish medics from our purpose-built seal hospital. When its health improved, it was transferred to a rehabilitation centre and two weeks ago I got the notification that it was successfully released in North Devon.'

For anyone worried about an animal or think it might be in distress Martin recommends calling the charity’s emergency number: ‘We try to encourage the public to use the app What3Words as it gives us an exact pinpoint so we can get medics there even quicker. Stay back and if possible send photos, it assists us with making plans.’

A grey seal entangled in a flying hoop, which the BDMLR is urging people not to buy (Image: Martin Gillett)

The organisation has just begun a campaign to discourage retailers from selling flying discs, popular with beachgoers. They may be great fun on the beach but a number of seals have got them stuck around their necks explains Martin.

‘Seals are quite inquisitive creatures. They will see a flying disc floating in the water and stick their head up into it. When they are young, they can get their head easily into it but the problem is they have not got the capability to get the ring back off so as they grow it slowly cuts into their neck.

‘Research has recently shown that even once it has been entangled, it can have an effect on the seal for the rest of its life and can stunt its growth.

'We are working with the Seal Alliance and have a petition in place to try and get it discussed in the Houses of Parliament to prevent retailers from selling them. We don’t want to discourage people having fun but if people could just use a solid disc Frisbee, it stops the potential danger for wildlife.'