Every year, the Animal of the Year award celebrates animals doing extraordinary things, but Sgiath’s story is like nothing we’ve seen before.
Sgiath, a black Labrador working in the Scottish Highlands, has been named animal of the year by the International Fund for Animal Welfare after pioneering a world-first technique to detect sea vomit.
Working at low tide near Glencoe, the black Labrador uses her sense of smell to hunt down an invasive marine species called the carpet sea squirt. According to reporting from Bbc, the organism is also known as Didemnum vexillum and is commonly nicknamed sea vomit
because of its slimy appearance among seaweed and on marine structures such as pontoons and oyster cages.
Sgiath Tracks Carpet Sea Squirt Near Glencoe
Dr Texa Sim, a Glasgow-born marine ecologist based near Glencoe, developed the detection project while working on a native oyster restoration initiative on Scotland’s west coast. Having previously trained Sgiath as a mountain rescue dog, Dr Sim wondered if canine scent detection could offer a rapid, cost-effective tool against biofouling species.
Dr Sim had trained Sgiath as a mountain rescue dog.
When I first started this project, I genuinely didn’t know whether it would work. No one had really explored whether dogs could help tackle this problem in the marine environment. It began as a proof-of-concept project and has exceeded every expectation I had.
Dr Texa Sim, marine ecologist
At low tide, Sgiath runs a nose survey, pinpointing colonies attached to boat hulls, fishing gear, ropes, or oyster cages. Dr Sim noted that the dog is always correct when pointing out the organism, which can appear in shades ranging from orange to cream and is otherwise difficult to spot.
Carpet Sea Squirt Threatens UK Waters
The carpet sea squirt arrived on the shores of southern England and Wales in 2008. The organism reproduces rapidly during warmer summer months, and warming seas driven by climate change spark fears that it could spread further across UK seaside locations.
Dr Martyn Kurr, a marine biologist from Bangor University, explained that non-native species can outcompete native wildlife for vital nutrients and clog aquaculture pens, marine infrastructure, and machinery like boat propellers. Controlling these problematic marine invaders costs millions of pounds annually across Europe.
It’s fantastic to see Sgiath get this much deserved award, and I’m very excited to see what other wonderful work we can do with sniffer dogs.
Dr Martyn Kurr, marine biologist from Bangor University
International Fund for Animal Welfare Honours Sgiath
Sharon Livermore is the Director of Marine Conservation at the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Sharon Livermore praised the Labrador’s achievements ahead of the 26th annual Animal Action Awards ceremony scheduled for Thursday, 15 October at BAFTA London.
Every year, the Animal of the Year award celebrates animals doing extraordinary things, but Sgiath’s story is like nothing we’ve seen before. Her trailblazing work demonstrates the remarkable potential of dogs to contribute to conservation science in entirely new ways.
Sharon Livermore, IFAW’s Director of Marine Conservation
Sgiath has already been joined by a three-year-old protégé named Uisge, a younger Labrador who follows in her teammate’s pawprints. Together, the working dogs have demonstrated an ability to distinguish the invasive organism from other sea squirts and identify low concentrations of scent in water samples.
It’s fantastic to see Sgiath get this much deserved award, and I’m very excited to see what other wonderful work we can do with sniffer dogs.
Dr Martyn Kurr, marine biologist from Bangor University
