Berwickshire Marine Reserve

Berwickshire Marine Reserve Scotland’s First Voluntary Marine Reserve, formerly the St Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve. A charity established in 1984.

Based on the East coast of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders.

Herring Gull chicks are appearing all over the reserve this week, so here is a reminder of their situation and a few sug...
19/06/2026

Herring Gull chicks are appearing all over the reserve this week, so here is a reminder of their situation and a few suggestions on what we can do to co-exist with them this summer!

We can’t guarantee these will always work - such is the nature of wildlife - but we’re trying to narrow down what is effective, so we can minimise conflict between people and gulls as much as possible.

Please report any incidents of gulls coming into conflict with people using the QR code or link in picture 5; the more we know, the better position we’re in to take positive action!

Meet our Gull Ranger! This is Patrick, who has joined the team for the Summer and will be out and about in Eyemouth and ...
18/06/2026

Meet our Gull Ranger!

This is Patrick, who has joined the team for the Summer and will be out and about in Eyemouth and the reserve talking all things gull!

Look out for details of events including gull surveys and identification sessions, along with lots of information on how we can live alongside our gull neighbours in harmony.

If you see Patrick make sure to say hi 👋 and if you have any questions about our Gull project just get in touch.

Flora & Fauna
NatureScot

What have we been up to this week?On Monday, to celebrate World Oceans Day, we joined Amy from Berwickshire & Northumber...
11/06/2026

What have we been up to this week?

On Monday, to celebrate World Oceans Day, we joined Amy from Berwickshire & Northumberland Marine Nature Partnership for a Shorewatch and guided walk around St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve NTS 🌊

We were incredibly lucky to spot bottlenose dolphins during our Shorewatch 🐬 we also visited the seabird colony at St Abbs Head watching guillemots, razor bills, gannets, fulmars and kittiwakes gliding around the cliffs 🪶

A wonderful time was had by all! It was great to stop and reflect and appreciate how lucky we are to have so many special and unique species along the Berwickshire Coast 💙

Yesterday we were down at Coldingham Bay removing Himalayan Balsam 🌱 Himalayan Balsam is a non-native invasive species that outcompetes native plants but growing tall and in dense quantities. Each year we remove this plant by pulling it from the base of the stem - a thoroughly satisfying job!

Come and see us at Kirk Square! We have all things Gull 🐦 as well as some fantastic BMR merch for sale!
06/06/2026

Come and see us at Kirk Square!

We have all things Gull 🐦 as well as some fantastic BMR merch for sale!

🌟Celebrating Volunteers Week! 🌟It goes without saying that what we achieve at the Berwickshire Marine Reserve, would sim...
02/06/2026

🌟Celebrating Volunteers Week! 🌟

It goes without saying that what we achieve at the Berwickshire Marine Reserve, would simply not be possible without our fabulous volunteers! Their time, effort and enthusiasm (even in some questionable Scottish weather) does not go unnoticed 💙

Cleaning beaches, surveying the rocky shore, recording important data on marine mammals, removing non-native invasive species, and all of the help and support that happens behind the scenes, we are incredibly privileged to have such a wonderful group of individuals that support us week on week, year on year ☺️

So far this year volunteers have:

🚮 removed 641.09kg of marine litter

🔍completed 6 intertidal surveys

🌸 attended the Spring BioBlitz

🔭completed 1 WDC shorewatch session

🌱done 1 session of Himalayan Balsam Blitzing

ℹ️ attended 3 species ID workshops

So from all of the team at BMR...

THANK YOU! 🌊

If you ever see us out and about, please stop and have a chat and pass on your appreciation, it really goes a long way!



Earlier this evening we were sent these photos taken from the car park at the leisure centre in Eyemouth.The wonderful p...
01/06/2026

Earlier this evening we were sent these photos taken from the car park at the leisure centre in Eyemouth.

The wonderful person who took these photos then went along to the Co-op, bought some bin bags and rubber gloves and cleaned up the mess themselves. We want to say a huge thank you to these wonderful volunteers 👏

You can see in the first picture here that the rubbish is surrounded by a few gulls. This is the kind of thing that gets the gulls a bad name. They didn’t make the mess, but are just taking the opportunity to grab an easy meal. This shows why it is so important to dispose of our litter correctly and responsibly.

Thanks again to the good citizens who cleaned this up. It shouldn’t have to be done but for the good of the environment and the gulls was necessary.

To those who made the mess. Please do better and respect our town, environment and wildlife. The council have been informed.

28/05/2026

We want your rubbish!

Yesterday saw the installation of Eyemouth's first gull proof bin. It is situated near the seating area opposite Giacopazzi's. So if you are enjoying some fish and chips by the harbour, pop your rubbish in here please!

Thanks to our fabulous artist Caroline Climate Change Artist who designed the amazing artwork, and to Future Street who supplied and installed the bin.

This bin uses solar power to compact the waste - making it able to hold 5 times as much rubbish as a normal bin. It is also fully enclosed, with a pedal operated hopper, which not only stops rubbish from flying out and ending up in our sea, but also makes it gull-proof. Help us help the gulls by disposing of your waste correctly - in our big belly bin!

Let's help gulls by not being part of the problem ourselves. Disposing of our waste properly removes the temptation of leftover chips and will help to reduce their association of humans with food.

This bin is here for a six month trial as part of our 'Gulls and People' project this summer which is being supported by NatureScot and Flora & Fauna. Have a look on our website to find out more.

The sun is out - Summer is here! 😎It's a holiday week for some people and our beaches are busy with locals and visitors ...
26/05/2026

The sun is out - Summer is here! 😎

It's a holiday week for some people and our beaches are busy with locals and visitors enjoying the sun and sea and our beautiful coast.

We would just like to ask one thing....please tidy up after yourself.

Put your litter in the bin, if the bin is full take it home with you to dispose of there. Please do not leave rubbish on our beaches or lying at the side of bins.

Thanks to a fabulous local volunteer, 3.2kg of litter was removed from Eyemouth beach this morning. Plastic toys, food and drink packaging, dog poo bags and discarded clothing.....😢

Litter that isn't disposed of properly can find it's way into the sea, taking years to break down and damaging the environment. It can cause harm to our fantastic wildlife. It can encourage scavenging behaviour from some animals, in coastal towns in particular - gulls.

Please be responsible and leave nothing but footprints when you visit our beautiful beaches. 🙏

A reminder to all water users of the Reserve!As a Voluntary Marine Reserve we have Codes of Conduct that we ask all recr...
15/05/2026

A reminder to all water users of the Reserve!

As a Voluntary Marine Reserve we have Codes of Conduct that we ask all recreational users to follow. These Codes inform users on how to minimise their impact on the marine environment and reduce conflict.

We recently became aware of an incident where a local fisherman's creel was deliberately cut open. This is an illegal and dangerous act and goes against the BMR's Codes of Conduct. By tampering or damaging equipment in any way, you are affecting the livelihood of the local fishermen. Equipment is expensive and time consuming to repair.

The majority of the waters of the BMR are encompassed by a Static Gear Reserve, meaning only creel or line fishing can be carried out. Creel fishing for lobsters and crabs is minimally impactful on the seabed and its one of the most sustainable fisheries in Scotland.

If you witness someone tampering or damaging creels please report it to Police Scotland as soon as possible.

What have we been up to in April 🌊🪸April was certainly a busy month for BMR and our fabulous volunteers 🤩📖 The Marine Ed...
15/05/2026

What have we been up to in April 🌊🪸

April was certainly a busy month for BMR and our fabulous volunteers 🤩

📖 The Marine Education Centre was open during the Easter holidays, teaching locals and visitors about our wonderful marine environment and the challenges we face

🌼 Our Spring BioBlitz with St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve NTS was a great success, thank you to all those that joined us!

🔍We surveyed the rocky shore at Coldingham Bay as part of our Intertidal Marine Monitoring surveys

🚮 We completed a beach clean at Burnmouth removing over 21kg of litter

🔭 We carried out a Whale and Dolphin Conservation Shorewatch at St Abbs, unfortunately no Orca seen on this occasion

There are always plenty of opportunities to get involved with! If you'd like to get involved in any of our events, check out our website ℹ️👇

https://www.berwickshiremarinereserve.org.uk/events

We are able to host these events thanks to your generous donations and funding from The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland

Address

The Hippodrome, Harbour Road
Eyemouth
TD145HT

Telephone

+441890752509

Website

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