Communities across the UK are invited to join in with a nationwide rock pooling competition this spring, with the Big Rock Pool Challenge National BioBlitz 2026. Combining marine species discovery with competitive wildlife recording, the event brings people of all ages and backgrounds together with the common aim of exploring and recording the incredible biodiversity of our coastal shores.
A very unusual marine discovery has been made at Plymouth’s Mount Batten Beach during The Rock Pool Project’s monthly BioBlitz Battle. Two keen young rock poolers taking part in the citizen science event found specimens of the depilatory sea hare (Aplysia depilans), a species usually only seen in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic.
The Marine Biological Association
The Laboratory,
Citadel Hill Plymouth,
Devon
PL1 2PB, UK
The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom is a registered charity in England and Wales (1155893), and is a company limited by Royal Charter (RC000865). The Marine Biological Association conducts, promotes and supports scientific research into all aspects of life in the sea.