Marine life

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The sea around Pembrokeshire is home to a vast array of different marine plants and animals. Warm water coming up to us from the Gulf Stream means that some warm water species can find their way here to their northernmost limits, while colder water coming down from the north enables some species to find their southernmost limits.

The fish life can be plentiful, especially around our wrecks. The most common fish to be seen are pollack and different species of wrasse, although there are many more. Occasionally in the summer months, we get trigger fish making their way here, only to disappear again when it gets colder.

Sometimes an octopus can be found nestling in a rock crevice if you look closely, and St. Brides Haven is well populated with little cuttlefish, which you can only spot if they suddenly swim away from you squirting ink.

Spider crabs are everywhere from May - September, lumbering along the sand in front of you, and hiding among crevices and in the kelp. Other crabs are also to be found if you look in the right places, along with bright blue lobsters and translucent prawns. Rarely, we come across crayfish and the uncommon Sponge crab - so called because it usually has a sponge on its back.

Attached to the rocks themselves are numerous species of bright and colourful anemones. Devonshire cup corals are dotted all over rock surfaces and walls, and "Dead mans fingers" (a soft coral) can be abundant at some sites. Gorgonia, or sea fans, are normally found further south, but they are around Skomer Island, and on some of our reefs at Abercastle, and can be a lovely sight. They are very delicate, and great care needs to be taken not to knock and damage them. Go to next page for more marine life

Images Copyright & supplied by Francis & Anne Bunker@www.marineseen.com

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