No less than the great, spectacular oceans, Europe’s North and Baltic Seas still have intriguing stories to tell, and secrets to reveal. The waters between the coasts of Scotland and Heligoland, between Oosterschelde in the Netherlands and the Shetland Islands, are the scene of dramas both great and small. We see dolphins using a very special technique to catch salmon. They use the powerful currents of the Moray Firth to catch salmon, passing on their skills to their young. But what if their prey is too big to swallow? A skua couple fighting for the survival of their chicks. Normally they steal other seabirds’ prey, but this is in short supply. So the skuas directly target their neighbours the puffins. A “satellite” squid mates illicitly, while northern gannets suffer tragically, caught up in the remains of plastic fishing nets.
