Seashore Spotter

Seashore Spotter is a Citizen Science survey allowing you record any marine species (even if you don’t know what it is!), any time, anywhere.

We want to map the distribution of marine species around the Irish coastline, and to find out what species occur at different times of year.

Is to monitor changes in the distribution and occurrence of marine species linked to climate change and water quality change to help us understand their impact on marine species and habitats.

Anyone who is out and about on the shore or on the water. Just take a photo of any intertidal or coastal wildlife you see and submit it to us online.

Just take a photo of marine plants or animals and submit them by clicking HERE. You can even submit photos of species you can’t identify! Just select the ‘species unidentified’ box when you submit your photo and we will do the identifying for you! You can submit multiple species from the same location using our submission form.

Photo hints:

• Get as close as you can
• Make sure your photo is in focus and well lit
• Take a photo of enough of the animal or plant to enable us identify it
• Make sure it is clean of debris and sand.

Some example species record shots are shown below.

To help you with species identification you can purchase our marine species swatches from our online shop, use one of the suggested seashore identifications guides on our resources page, keep an eye on our events and workshops pages for a training course near you, or complete our FREE online marine citizen science course.

Learn how to recognise and record Irish coastal and intertidal species. Join a growing team of Citizen Science recorders helping to monitor Ireland’s coastal biodiversity. Use our Facebook Page to seek help with identifications and keep in touch with Explore Your Shore!

All records submitted are checked by an expert to see that the species has been correctly identified and that the position information is correct. Then it is uploaded to the Explore Your Shore! Data Set on Biodiversity Maps as Open Access data which anyone can download. Validated records are also shared on the European Ocean Biodiversity Information System and on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Data contributed to Explore Your Shore! also forms part of UNESCO monitoring of Essential Ocean Variables.

Access project data at https://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/Dataset/305

All Explore Your Shore! data is contributed thanks to the time and effort of our network of volunteer Citizen Scientists.