Life Solved Live
Life Solved Live is a lecture series held by the University of Portsmouth presenting discoveries intended to change the way you see and understand things.
The introductory lecture by Professor Alex Ford discussed the shocking truth behind our pollutants and our marine life in his talk ‘Sex changing sea life’. This was an absolute light bulb moment for the CHASM project about what might be happening on our coast affecting not only crabs and lobsters, but also other marine biota.
Professor Ford is an Environmental Biologist in the University’s School of Biological Sciences and Deputy Director of the Centre for Blue Governance. His research looks at what impact chemicals can have on marine environments when human action puts them in places they shouldn't be.
Professor Ford said: “This talk explores some of the synergies between the effects of chemical contaminants on human sperm counts through to reproductive abnormalities found in sea life. In the past, we were concerned about chemicals that act like oestrogens getting into the water and changing the sex of fish, for instance. Now we're concerned about a vast array of chemicals that might interfere hormones in aquatic organisms, some of which can change behaviour.”
The talk is essential viewing and can be seen via the following link:
Life Solved Live: Sex changing sea life
CHASM Film 2022
Fishing has been a part of Selsey Bill, West Sussex and the surrounding areas since the Bronze Age. Local fishermen tell of huge changes to the fishing grounds in recent years, about the small numbers of lobsters being caught locally, and large influxes of sediment arriving in their fishing grounds. Needing to understand these changes led to the development of... Read More»
Sea's The Day Film
Sea's the Day: The Fishermen of Selsey Bill. The film is one of the high points of the project. Millstream Productions did a wonderful job as they worked with the project team to sift through the oral history interviews to identify likely candidates to sit in front of a camera. This was followed by filmed interviews at locations on... Read More»
Letter from David Attenborough
We were so pleased to receive a letter from David Attenborough about the CHASM project. CHASM’s first year report and project document were sent to David Attenborough, who kindly found time to reply just after Easter 2022. He extended his best wishes the CHASM project and hoped the work would enable protective measures to be based not on hunches, but... Read More»