North Yorkshire Police are inviting the community to a special event on Marine Drive this Wednesday to learn how to protect Scarborough's coastal wildlife.
North Yorkshire Police are inviting the community to join a special engagement event in Scarborough this Wednesday, focused on protecting coastal wildlife and promoting the responsible enjoyment of the town's stunning marine environment.
The Operation Seabird event will take place on Wednesday the 22nd of April between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm at the Sea Watching Station on Marine Drive.
Officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team will be working alongside partner organisations to educate the public on coastal safety and how everyone can help reduce wildlife disturbance along the coastline.
PC Jamie Manson from the North Yorkshire Police rural team explained the purpose of the national initiative.
"Operation Seabird's a national operation and it's used to for the protection of marine wildlife basically.
So within Scarborough we have a lot of seals, we have the dolphins, and we have a lot of birds obviously around the cliffs around the castle, all of which are protected.
So Operation Seabird is put in place to protect them animals and really to raise awareness about it all and make people aware that there are these animals and albeit they are lovely animals but they are protected by law. And just to give people an idea of what to do when they're in and around these animals."
Whether attendees are regular visitors, local residents, or simply passionate about protecting natural spaces, everyone is welcome to drop in to speak with officers and ask questions.
One of the key messages of the campaign is how to appropriately handle sightings of marine mammals on the shore. PC Jamie Manson highlighted why these animals often appear on the slipways and beaches.
"We get a lot of seals that come up onto the beach onto the slipways. And they're coming up to rest so you'll probably notice more often than not during heavy seas, they will come up and they'll rest on the beach or on the slipways. And all that they're doing is they're coming up to rest because they've had such a tough time in the sea. And people don't realise that.
The best thing to do is when these the seals do come up on the beach and the slipways, just give them plenty of space, leave them to their own devices. As long as they're not injured or anything like that, they can be left alone and they will take themselves back into the sea once they're well rested."
The police are encouraging the public to work together to keep the coastline safe for both people and wildlife.
PC Jamie Manson detailed what visitors can expect if they attend the community event on Wednesday.
"We've got a number of different organisations that are gonna be coming down all with the same interest at heart which is all encompassed into Operation Seabird. And we're just gonna be giving out information to people, hopefully the dolphins might come along, we might get a chance to do a bit of dolphin spotting if they're in the sea.
To just really raise awareness about what people should do when they're in and around these animals. Let people know how to report if they do see any kind of disturbance going on or anything like that.
We're gonna be at the Sea Watching Station which is on Marine Drive in Scarborough from 10 o'clock in the morning till 2. There'll be lots of information from the organisations that are there. So just to get people to come along really pick up a bit of information and have a chat with us."
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