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Both grey seals, Halichoerus grypus, and harbour seals, Phoca vitulina, live along our coast. It is estimated that 20-25 harbour seals live between Chichester Harbour and Southampton Water. They head out to sea to hunt for food and return to the shore to rest and to breed. Grey seals have a roman nose, while harbour seals have a face which resembles a Labrador dog.

Ostrea edulis
Oysters are a type of edible shellfish. All native oysters start out as males, and throughout their lives change back and forth from male to female. Native oysters can be found from the shore down to a depth of 80m on almost any type of seabed from bedrock to mud. They are a species which is in decline.

Seagrasses (sometimes called eelgrasses) are types of flowering plants which grow in shallow seawater. They provide a nursery area for young fish and a habitat for lots of other animals, including seahorses. They are an important food source for dark-bellied brent geese.

Scyliorhinus canicula
This is small type of shark, which is common in our seas and frequently seen by divers at Mixon Hole. These sharks lay eggs, nick named ‘mermaid’s purses’. The empty egg cases are often found washed up on our beaches.

Mixon Hole is an unusual underwater feature . Thousands of years ago, it used to be a river gorge on land, but now it is 5-20m under the sea. The soft rock forming the wall of the ‘drowned gorge’, supports a variety of marine life, including seaweeds, sponges, worms and piddocks (a type of burrowing clam).

Cuttlefish are relatives of octopus and squid. There are two species found off our coast: the common cuttlefish and the little cuttlefish. Cuttlefish are masters of camouflage, with their ability to almost instantly change their appearance to match their surroundings. Cuttlefish have one bone in their body which provides them with buoyancy. Cuttlefish bones are regularly washed up on our beaches.

Homarus gammarus
Common lobsters live in holes and excavated tunnels in rocky areas. They have one claw specialised for cutting and the other for crushing. Common lobster are a commercially important species. They are slow growing, but can reach a size of one metre in length.

Both grey seals, Halichoerus grypus, and harbour seals, Phoca vitulina, live along our coast. It is estimated that 20-25 harbour seals live between Chichester Harbour and Southampton Water. They head out to sea to hunt for food and return to the shore to rest and to breed. Grey seals have a roman nose, while harbour seals have a face which resembles a Labrador dog.

Cuttlefish are relatives of octopus and squid. There are two species found off our coast: the common cuttlefish and the little cuttlefish. Cuttlefish are masters of camouflage, with their ability to almost instantly change their appearance to match their surroundings. Cuttlefish have one bone in their body which provides them with buoyancy. Cuttlefish bones are regularly washed up on our beaches.

Homarus gammarus
Common lobsters live in holes and excavated tunnels in rocky areas. They have one claw specialised for cutting and the other for crushing. Common lobster are a commercially important species. They are slow growing, but can reach a size of one metre in length.

Spondyliosoma cantharus
Black bream arrive at our coast when the water temperatures increase in the spring. They are an important food fish. The males excavate a nest by using their tails to move sand or gravel off a firmer layer of substrate on which the females lay the eggs. Black bream are hermaphrodites, changing sex from female to male when they reach a certain size.

Chalk is a soft rock, which provides a home for burrowing animals, like piddocks (a type of clam) and worms, as well as sponges and seaweeds which grow on top of the rock. Chalk was formed millions of years ago from the skeletons of microscopic plants.

Dicentrarchus labrax

Larus argentatus

You can’t miss these large noisy birds which live all along our coastline. You can distinguish them from other types of gull by their pink legs and black wing tips with white spots. They are opportunistic feeders, eating all sorts of food. They will even steal food from other seabirds.

Microstomus pacificus

Dover sole are a type of flat fish, which like sandy and muddy seabeds. When they hatch they have an upright body position, like most other fish and as they develop they turn on their side and the eye on their underside moves to sit next to the eye on their top side. Sole are a popular food fish.

Skates and rays are flat cartilaginous (their skeletons are made of cartilage rather than bone) fish, which are related to sharks. They are long lived (common Skate can live to be over 100 years old) and they glide over the seabed hunting for food. Ray egg cases can be found washed up on our beaches.

Skates and rays are flat cartilaginous (their skeletons are made of cartilage rather than bone) fish, which are related to sharks. They are long lived (common Skate can live to be over 100 years old) and they glide over the seabed hunting for food. Ray egg cases can be found washed up on our beaches.

Both the UK’s species of seahorse, the short-snouted and the long-snouted, live off our coast, most often recorded in seagrass meadows and estuaries. Seahorses usually mate for life and perform a courtship dance with their partner every morning. The male seahorses get pregnant and give birth to the young, not the females.

We have a variety of different dolphin’s that visit our local waters including the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus). They use echolocation to search for prey, which is similar to sonar. They emit clicking sounds and listen for the return echoes to locate the whereabouts of potential prey.

Pecten maximus

Scallops live on sandy and gravelly seabeds, and move about by snapping their shells shut sending a jet of water out. They are a popular seafood. Scallops have 30-40 simple eyes.

Sabellaria spinulosa

There are about 65 species of crab in British waters. Some species are important for fisheries, including the edible crab, velvet swimming crab and spiny spider crab. For camouflage, crabs often decorate themselves with other marine life, such as seaweed and sponges.

Phocoena phocoena

The harbour porpoise can be seen off the coast of Eastbourne, however, it is a secretive animal that doesn’t often break the surface. If you are lucky enough to see one, you may hear a loud noise as they clear their blowhole. These are social creatures, which travel around in groups of around 12 individuals searching for fish to eat.

Balaenoptera acutorostrata

These whales are occasionally spotted off our coast. Minke whales sieve food out of the sea using the baleen hairs in their mouth. They have a small sickle-shaped fin on their back and a white band on their flippers.