Project Name: Loch Long

Country: Scotland (United Kingdom)

Project Managers: Ryan Mcshane and Andy Pilley

Contact: Mcshaner (at) me (dot) com / arpilley (at) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk

Social Media: Facebook Group

The project aims to document environmental conditions in Loch Long on the west coast of Scotland and contribute to conservation and scientific initiatives in the region. The focus of the team is a visibility station that has been installed at the A-Frames dive site in Loch Long, where the project originated.

Loch Long is a saltwater Sea Loch approximately 20 miles long and around 1-2 miles wide with depths ranging from 6m - 56m. The loch is home to a wide array of sea life, from plant life, small crustaceans, fish, eels and large marine mammals such as porpoises and seals. There is an oil terminal on the loch which provides deep water berth for tankers. The project aims to ascertain whether this commercial activity has any bearing on the underwater conditions within the loch.

Collaborations: In addition to collecting data at the baseline station the team have formed a number of conservation and scientific collaborations. The team conducts sea-life surveys for Seasearch Scotland and recovers ghost fishing gear in support of Ghost Fishing UK. Project members also support Strathclyde University’s ‘Dive for Antibiotics’ team by collecting underwater sediment samples. DFA is a postgraduate research project searching for new sources of antibiotics.

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