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Reminiscences of surfing with dolphins; fishing nets in Clovelly brimful with herring; and local men collecting driftwood off beaches to use as fuel are just some of the memories contributed to a marine oral history project in North Devon.

Twenty interviews have so far been recorded for North Devon's Living Seas Oral History Project, and more are being collected.

Over 350 photographs and other material have also been contributed to the project, being managed by the Devon Wildlife Trust and run by conservation group, Coastwise North Devon.

The oral history is looking at changes within living memory to the sea, marine wildlife, and the way people use the coastline.

Visitors to Lee Bay on Bill Cooks boat (Alan Kift)

Cat Jones, the trust's marine awareness officer for North Devon, said: "It has been fascinating to delve back into people's memories of what the seas around our coasts used to be like, even just a few decades ago.

"For example people can find out about the changes in birds and dolphins, the huge Clovelly herring catches that once took place and how driftwood was once used for fuel.

"If it wasn't for these types of projects, the history of the seas might be lost forever and we would never know how rich our marine wildlife used to be and could be again."

The audio memories have been put onto the trust's website. One Woolacombe surfer recalls: "We used to get dolphins surfing with us. We were surfing a wave and then you'd see a dolphin come through - it was absolutely brilliant."

Another tells of the days when porpoises were a regular sight: "I remember when porpoises were very common and now they are something of a rarity.

Sunset cup corals, Lundy (Natural England)

"We'd get four or five, 10 or 20, coming in regularly in the summer period, chasing mackerel."

Divers tell of the changes to the marine environment around Lundy, which is home to some important wildlife species.

There are also memories of a Clovelly herring boat with nets so full that the two fishermen on board had to be rescued by the lifeboat.

Villagers came out to help them unload the catch.

"We had a wonderful delivery of Malaysian hardwood about 20, 25 years ago," remembers one local man. "The whole shore was covered...we nearly killed ourselves bringing it up.

"We made a very nice picnic table out of it - I've still got the table out there now."

The project follows a grant of £6,000 from the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty sustainable development fund.

The memories are putting a Devon view on the national picture of the state of the UK's seas outlined by Professor Callum Roberts of York University, in his book, The Unnatural History of the Sea. The book highlights the significant decline in marine species around the UK due primarily to human impacts.

To get involved in the North Devon project or to listen to the memories, visit the Devon Wildlife Trust's special website section, which is linked from the top right of this page.