Jersey Snorkel Trail

 

Snorkel Portelet, launched in 2022, provides residents and tourists the opportunity to explore Jersey’s valuable marine environment. Situated in the southwest corner of Jersey and nestled between stunning headlands, Portelet Bay is an oasis enjoying an element of isolation from the island. Snorkel Portelet is made up of three components, the trail itself, an education programme and a citizen science portal. The self-guided trail showcases rocky reefs, kelp, sandy and a small seagrass bed. These habitats support a range of marine life with ballan and cuckoo wrasse, spider crabs and snakelocks anemones among the species for snorkelers to see.  

As part of the initiative, across the summer of 2022 Blue Marine worked with Bouley Bay Dive Centre to deliver an educational outreach programme providing underwater experiences to more than 180 children. Targeted at primary schools the programme offered six sessions that include classroom workshops, a pool session and guided snorkel tour at Portelet Bay.  Going beneath the surface to physically experience the marine world brings to life what most people will have only seen on a screen. Creating lasting memories of the natural world, the programme hopes to foster a connection between Jersey’s younger generation and the seas around them. 

Blue Marine has an ambition to double the extent of the snorkel trail education initiative across the second half of the 2023 summer term. This will bring to total reach of the initiative 600 children across 20 different schools, resulting in a significant increase in the understanding of the marine environment within younger island generations.