Marine Medics on Morecambe Bay
The Lancashire coast isn’t the first place that springs to mind when you think of seals and whales.
That’s not to say the area is devoid of marine-life.
A quick search of social media will show you that porpoises and dolphins can be seen from Blackpool, and dead ones are often found on the Fylde coast and Wyre estuary.
Recently, seals have even visited the Lune estuary and Heysham Port.
Morecambe Bay MVS try to do their bit to help sea life.
Recently the unit has organised litter-picks to remove rubbish from the River Lune and are now exploring a project with the Environment Agency to improve water quality.
Now, three members have decided to go even further and undertake the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Mammal Medic course.
BDMLR have a large network of volunteer medics, trained and willing to respond to local and national reports of strandings and incidents involving seals and cetaceans.
In early October the team, along with Bay Search and Rescue, travelled to Killington in Cumbria for the only North West course to be run for some time.
The lectures included species identification, anatomy and behaviour, causes of stranding, common illnesses and first aid.
Course participants were able to practice the individual skills of restraining and assessing a seal pup, team handling of a stranded dolphin, as well as working to construct a floating pontoon to move a whale.
Having passed the course and been awarded their certificates and badges, the volunteers will now augment the existing Lancashire and South Cumbria medics and be available for callouts to local incidents and to support larger incidents elsewhere.