Strandline - secrets of the seashore

Seaweed

Sea weeds are the oceans equivalent of the field and forests on land. Seaweeds are very important as they provide food, shelter and oxygen. They cling to rocks with their root-like holdfast and sway back and forth with the waves.
The dead remains of sea weeds that we find on the strandline are often young plants or pieces of seaweed torn free during a storm. You may be surprised to know that some seaweeds grow very tall as they reach up to the sunlit surface. Some, like the bootlace and can reach 8 metres.

1) BootlaceBootlace weed is named after its cord-like shape. Often grows together forming a large tangled mass which may reach 8 metres in length in deep water

2) CarragheenCarragheen, or Irish moss is a delicate purple-red seaweed, harvested as a food, medicine and as a gelling agent. Grows to about 20 cm in length

3) BladderwrackBladder wrack, one of several wrack species, has distinctive gas filled bladders to help the leafy fronds reach the sunlight. May reach 1m or more in length.

4) Oar weed Oar Weed also known as Tangle weed grows bigger and better in exposed water with long strap like fingers up to 2 metres

5) Sea belt Sea belt is a type of kelp reaching up to 4 metres in length. If hung up to dry they become stiff in dry weather but become limp again in humid weather and have led to the name Poor man's weather glass.

6) Dogfish The lesser spotted dogfish is the most common shark species around the UK and can reach a length of 60-100 centimetres. It feeds on small molluscs, crustaceans and small fish on or near the seabed.

7) Cuttlefish Cuttlefish are masters of camouflage, changing colour to match their surroundings. It catches its favoured prey, crabs, with its tentacles and breaks the shell with its beak-like mouth.