St Mary's

[Juliogeordio]

Lol

[kayos]

Or the Killer Whales

Killer whales have been here for decades.

[Bushwhacker]

Theres plenty of them off Shetland and the other islands,but they are more interested on following the Mackeral boats and feeding on the fish escaping from the nets...

[kayos]

Maybe we should send this to the St Mary's deluded "volunteers!"

Seal wants a tummy tickle! - Carve - UK Surfing Magazine

[regpude]

thats a belter mark.rrrrrr i want one.UP YOURS,comes to mind.

[lead chucker]

Out of interest what social media sites do these people put photos of people on st Mary's Island.

[mardenq]

they have a facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/stmaryssealwatch?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

[lead chucker]

Bloody Facebook it's kak, weirdos

[topbanana]

As the video shows, these people are clearly full of sh!t.

[daveyjones]

st marys

can you still fish st marys,or is it to much trouble off the seal huggers.

[topbanana]

Just go on as normal mate, if they try to take pics shove the camera up their pompous arse.

[Charlton]

phone north Tyneside council and tell them you are sick of being accosted by self appointed wardens of St Mary's island

[broon shoe]

When I was on st marys I was told you can't go down there not politely asked to stay clear of the seals it just boils my blood to think these people are full of bull **** they need to be reported not people walking round the island

[kayos]

Here is a reply I received from the Council Officer at St. Marys. Reading between the lines he is no fan of the self appointed volunteers. Email him any complaints, the more the Council receives the better the chance of getting rid of these idiots!

Dear Mr. Barclay,

Thank you for your recent communication detailing your concerns regarding the activities of the Seal Watch group at St. Mary' Island. This matter has been drawn to our attention previously, and we are working with other colleagues within the Council to try and find ways to successfully resolve these issues.

The group is a completely separate entity, an independent group not affiliated with the lighthouse or the Council, and as such we are not responsible for their actions. The rocky shore around the island is public land and therefore unless they do something specifically illegal or demonstrate anti-social behaviour, we can not restrict their activity any more than we can any other visitors to the rocky shore. This is particularly the case in terms of any activity on social networks, but if you ever feel that the group is in anyway threatening you violently, or demonstrating aggressive behaviour, I would encourage you to contact the police immediately. We are in regular communication with the group, and they have been informed that they have no authority to block access to any area of the island, and that the scope of their activity is limited to alerting people to the seals presence and providing information regarding potential disturbance. As such I would be very interested to hear if any member of the group has gone beyond this and if any member of the group do anything to specifically block you making your way to the water I would be extremely grateful if you could let me know.

Our point of view at the lighthouse, and as part of North Tyneside Council, which we work hard to portray to visitors (including the watch group), has always been that the island is a wonderful natural and historic resource, that should be conserved from both aspects to ensure that future visitors (independent of their particular interests or reasons for visiting the island) can also appreciate the historical and natural spectacles available at the island. To facilitate this we actively encourage visitors to take an interest in our diverse wildlife and beautiful landscape, whilst at the same time emphasizing that too much human interference will have a negative impact, but that by sharing a conscientious approach to how we use these resources , we can all ensure that future generations will also be able to experience the natural beauty of the area. As such we do actively encourage people to keep a suitable distance from any wildlife on the island, in an effort to avoid any disturbance.

If you do experience any behaviour from the group which you deem is inappropriate, please do let me know. In the mean time if you would be interested in coming over to the lighthouse for a conversation regarding these issues, I would be more than happy to find a time to make this happen, in the hope that we may be able to resolve these issues.

Yours sincerely

Adam Kelsey
Manager
St. Mary's Lighthouse and Visitor Centre,
St. Mary's Island,

[Phil83]

Seems like Adam's a canny bloke.

Wonder if he's aware of them taking pictures of people and their young kids, not something i would condone at all if i was a parent.

The Seal Watch group, as he has said, have no rights there whatsoever, just smile and ignore them - best way if they approach you i reckon.