Basking shark
This gentle giant is the largest shark in UK seas, reaching up to 12m in length. There's no need to fear them though, they only eat plankton!
This gentle giant is the largest shark in UK seas, reaching up to 12m in length. There's no need to fear them though, they only eat plankton!
The moon jelly is the most common jellyfish in UK seas, often washing up on our beaches. No need to worry though - it doesn't sting humans.
The common cockle is a traditional seaside favourite, both for its white shells often found in the sand and for the yummy snack of cockles doused in malt vinegar.
Sugar kelp is the crinkly belt like kelp that can often be found in deep rockpools on the lower shore or washed up on the beach after rough seas.
A great way to get up close and personal with the magnificent osprey is via one of the many nestcams set-up in the places that it breeds: Scotland, Cumbria, Wales and the East Midlands.
Sphagnum mosses carpet the ground with colour on our marshes, heaths and moors. They play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs: by storing water in their spongy forms, they prevent the decay…
Lisa Morgan, Head of Islands and Living Seas, tells us about some of her favourite wildlife encounters in Skokholm Island!
Did you know that there are coral reefs in the UK? UK seas are home to some amazing cold-water corals that form reefs on the seabed over 400m deep.
One of the most colourful fish in UK seas, the cuckoo wrasse looks like it belongs in the tropics. Don't be fooled though, it's very much a native species.
Seabass is a seafood favourite, appearing on menus throughout the UK. But it's in trouble in UK seas, with much of the seabass we eat imported from European fish farms.
Did you know your seaside scampi was actually a kind of lobster? Traditionally so - although the scampi that is often eaten with chips can be anything from prawns to fish.