Cornwall marine wildlife experts' conservation work awarded

Matt Slater is the coordinator for Seasearch Cornwall and has overseen the collection of more than 30,000 records

Two marine conservationists have been recognised nationally for their work in Cornwall.

Matt Slater from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust was awarded for training divers to record marine life.

Mr Slater also runs Shoresearch Cornwall, which has carried out hundreds of rockpool surveys and has trained over 200 volunteers.

Trust volunteer Kate Williams won a runner-up award for recording marine life, including dolphins and whales.

Both were presented with their prizes in the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) awards at the Natural History Museum in London.

Mr Slater, who won the award for marine wildlife recording, said he had been "fascinated" with marine life all his life.

He said: "I love how every dive, snorkel or rock pooling session still yields animals and seaweeds that I haven't seen before."

Kate Williams' work included tracking a dolphin pod

Ms Williams, whose work recorded a rare pod of bottlenose dolphins, said: "Collecting data on our wildlife is the only way we will be able to understand, conserve and protect it."

The NBN awards recognise and celebrate contributions to wildlife recording and data sharing, helping to improve understanding of the UK's biodiversity.

Data from Cornwall's wildlife recorders is considered particularly valuable for climate change research, since they often encounter species moving north from warmer waters.