TO MARK the arrival of 2022, the Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas team have compiled their highs and lows of the last 12 months from around Britain.

Some of them I mentioned in an earlier more general countryside review — but this new maritime report has some conservation successes, as well as noting the increasing disruption to our seas.

Climate catastrophe is disrupting marine life just as much as it does life on land. Also a big increase in disturbance to marine life from human activities is harming marine plants and animals.

However, some real advances have been seen in pioneering schemes to restore seagrass meadows and huge kelp seaweed forests.

Native oysters, sand lizards and puffins are winning the fightback with help from the Wildlife Trust and other conservation bodies.

2021 was a fantastic year to go out on the cliffs or in a boat with binoculars or a camera, particularly in the south-west.

We have had record numbers of humpback and other whale sightings along with many other sea mammals from seals to dolphins, porpoises, killer whales and even an Arctic walrus.

At the same time it is clear that our oceans are under immense pressure from fishing, development, pollution, recreation and of course the climate catastrophe. These issues are having a huge impact on life at sea.

The Cop26 conference in Glasgow really brought home the need to limit global temperature rises to a maximum of 1.5°C.

Protecting our marine environment is a critical part of achieving that goal because healthy seabed habitats store carbon. We need policies that stop unsustainable industrial fishing practices and prevent unrestricted development at sea.

A report from the Scottish Association for Marine Science found that carbon stores in the English North Sea amount to nearly 20 per cent of that held in British forests — and woodlands and that 98 per cent of the total organic carbon is stored in seabed sediments like sand and mud.

One item of very good news was the sighting off the north of Ireland. It was a juvenile flapper skate, the world’s largest skate and dubbed “the manta ray of the Atlantic.” It can grow to nearly 10 feet across.

Flapper skates are critically endangered following decades of overfishing. If more juveniles are found in the future, it could signal that the fish are breeding in the area.

The local Wildlife Trust is training anglers to tag and release flapper skates — 36 were tagged in 2021.

Not everything for cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) was good news in 2021; there was positive news for humpback whales, but fewer sightings of other more unusual species were concerning.

Large numbers of humpback whales were spotted around Britain. Until recently, sightings were extremely rare, but more than 75 sightings have been recorded since 2019, showing how populations are recovering after long-fought-for bans on commercial whaling.

Just a few years ago, it would have been extremely rare to see a humpback whale around Britain. Now they are chasing big shoals of sardines that have reappeared.

Two orcas — known as killer whales, but actually a large species of dolphin — provided an amazing show off Cornwall’s cliff-top, open-air Minnack Theatre.

The two orcas, named John Coe and Aquarius, were from the west coast community — normally resident off the Hebrides.

It was the most southerly sighting of orcas in over half a century. They proved to be fast movers. Just nine days after being spotted in Cornwall they were back in the Hebrides and a fortnight after that, off the coast of Dover in Kent.

White-beaked dolphins were seen off Essex for first time in over 20 years. A group of 10 was seen off the Blackwater estuary in April, the first time the creatures have been seen in Essex since 2000. They are normally found in subarctic waters of the north Atlantic.

Bottlenose dolphins from Scotland’s Moray Firth were recorded on the south coast of England for the first time. Two bottlenose dolphins that have been resident at Weymouth Bay, Dorset, since 2019, were identified as Honey, first recorded in the Moray Firth Scotland in 2009 and her offspring, born in 2016.

In Cornwall alone, over 170 cetaceans and an astonishing 247 seals were stranded this year, many injured by fishing activities. Nearby, Devon Wildlife Trust reported 51 cetaceans stranded on beaches.

In May, the rare appearance of a minke whale calf in the Thames gripped London. Rescue teams tried to encourage the animal back to sea as thousands gathered on the banks hoping it could be saved. Sadly, the whale had to be put down after its condition deteriorated.

Just last month, Dorset Wildlife Trust found a stranded juvenile pygmy sperm whale — only a handful of these have ever been sighted in Britain.

Far too many marine creatures are unnecessarily killed or injured due to unsustainable fishing practices, with lost and discarded fishing gear also causing havoc for seals, dolphins and other marine mammals.

Marine creatures from far-flung places made unusual appearances around our coasts, providing further evidence of the effects of climate catastrophe on our seas.

Warming waters can cause disruption to feeding habits and breeding cycles. But they can attract interesting visitors.

In October, Cornwall Wildlife Trust reported a pufferfish — the first time one had washed up in 20 years. Pufferfish are oceanic species and rarely come this far north. This extraordinary fish inflates its body to ward off predators.

The ringneck blenny, a small fish found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea is now common in the Fal estuary, Cornwall, with signs of breeding in the English Channel.

Ten years of surveys have found that the furrowed crab is now abundant on all Cornish shores and appears to be out-competing common shore crabs.

Hundreds of starfish, seal pups and other creatures were washed up dead after Storm Arwen. Many other seal pups were found injured or separated from their mothers after the storm hit at the peak of pupping season.

Storm Arwen also saw a critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley turtle beached in Flintshire, more than 4,000 miles (6,400km) from where they are normally found in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today more and more people are enjoying water-based sports and activities but we need to make sure they are not causing damage to animals and plants that make the seas their home. Jet skis and motorboats are a major cause for concern — but also camera phones can cause problems.

Many large cruise ships were moored off the coast due to the Covid pandemic. The ships’ anchors created deep scars in the seabed, affecting vital wildlife habitats and the seabed’s ability to store carbon. Anchoring in protected areas can harm delicate reefs and other sensitive habitats.

What is needed to restore Britain’s marine habitats is at least a third of our seas need to be protected by 2030. This includes creating Highly Protected Marine Areas, better planning for development at sea and an increase in monitoring of marine life

In March, a new by-law was passed to stop damaging fishing practices off the Sussex coast. Now 304km² of seabed is protected from fishing with bottom-towed gear, allowing fragile habitats to recover. Since 1987, over 96 per cent of Sussex’s kelp has been lost due to trawling and other human pressures.

The Wildlife Trusts are re-establishing native oysters, which have declined by 95 per cent since the 19th century due to overfishing, pollution and disease.

Left undisturbed, oysters establish complex reefs, providing habitat for young fish and crabs. They also improve water quality; one oyster can filter over 140 litres of water a day.

After 30 years puffins are back on the Isle of Man. Puffins love islands but only if they are rat-free: the rats eat puffin eggs. Rats were eradicated and plastic model puffins were used to encourage the birds to return.

Britain has 10 per cent of the world’s Atlantic puffins, which are listed as a vulnerable species.

A very rare all-white puffin was found on Handa Island off the coast of Sutherland. The lack of pigmentation is caused by a genetic condition called leucism.

And finally, would you believe a large sea slug, called a highland dancer because of the elegant and rhythmic way it flaps itself across the seafloor, was spotted off Walney Island off Cumbria?

Less than 400 of these large sea slugs have been recorded in Britain and Ireland in the last century.