What's Seasearch?

Seasearch is a project for recreational divers and snorkellers who want to do their bit for the marine environment by collecting information about marine habitats, plants and animals that only they see under the water.

We need Seasearch information from sites all around Britain and Ireland, including the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, so wherever you dive or snorkel, you can take part.

You can carry out Seasearch surveys with your club, your buddy or on organised Seasearch dive weekends and longer expeditions.

The information collected by Seasearch divers helps everybody responsible for marine nature conservation to identify what’s special about different areas, what’s going on that may be affecting them and to make informed decisions about protection or regulatory measures.

Seasearch makes a difference!

Seasearch records, from recreational divers, have already made a big difference to how much we know about British and Irish marine life. 

From spiny lobsters to seagrass, we have plotted new records and led to new measures for protecting the most important sites in different areas.  And Seasearch volunteers have also spotted new or previously unrecorded species in Britain and Ireland.  But there is much more to learn…which is where you come in.

 Take a look around the Seasearch website to find out more about the project and what is happening in your area.  Come on one of our training courses.  Or sign up for a Seasearch dive.

Start your learning journey...

 You don’t have to be an expert to start off with because we’ll teach you what you need to know to become a Seasearch recorder on one of our training courses. You just need to be interested in the marine environment and want to learn more.

 If you are new to this sort of diving or snorkelling, take the introductory Observer Course.  These are run all around Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

The accent is on enjoying your diving and snorkelling by knowing much more about what you are seeing underwater and then coming back and telling us about it.  The course is fun and contains a mix of illustrated talks, practical sessions and virtual dives on video to practice newly learned skills.

There are higher-level Surveyor Courses for those with more experience and a range of other courses covering survey techniques, marine life identification and some of the ‘difficult to identify’ groups of marine life.