Documentary highlighting Channel Island marine life to premiere

Kate Prout has been given a sneak preview...

A documentary highlighting the diverse marine life of the Channel Islands is set to premiere this week.

Three Guernsey conservationists have been filming the creatures, plants and marine life over and under water to showcase the Bailiwicks.

The year long project allowed the film makers to dive underwater, filming North Atlantic bluefin tuna as well as travel on boats to find bottlenose dolphins.

After the premiere, the team hopes to take the film to local schools to teach pupils about the Islands' environments and biodiversity.

One of the team members, Anthony Ford-Marsland, says filming the cuttlefish was an amazing experience.

He says: "They're incredible animals. Like octopus they can change the colour of their skin to hide and they have these little muscles around their body and they can move them to actually change their texture."

Conservationist, Liz Sweet, helped advise the documentary team about the makeup of the different islands.

She says: "Islands are hotspots of biodiversity and they drive evolution. Even though they account for less than 7% of total global surface area of the planet they hold 20% of all plant and animal species.

"And all islands are different, so the more we know about the islands and manage it the better for wildlife and for us well. The more we know we can monitor change that is happening."