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Protecting Marine Wildlife on the Yorkshire Coast

How to Watch Seals Safely 🦭🌊

If you spend time in the sea around Scarborough and Cayton Bay, you’ll quickly realise something special — we don’t just share the water with other surfers.

We share it with grey seals resting on quiet beaches. With seabirds nesting along limestone cliffs. Occasionally even dolphins and porpoises passing through offshore.

The Yorkshire Coast is wild, raw and alive. As ocean users, we believe protecting that environment isn’t optional — it’s a shared responsibility.

Our Approach to Marine Awareness

Respect for marine wildlife sits at the heart of our coastal culture. During SUP tours, group sessions and community events — particularly where wildlife encounters are more likely — we take opportunities to promote responsible ocean behaviour and awareness.

The goal is simple: Enjoy the ocean. Protect what lives in it. Because wildlife encounters should feel special — not stressful for the animals involved.

Supporting Marine Mammal Rescue Awareness

We actively promote guidance aligned with British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), a national charity dedicated to the rescue and welfare of marine mammals across the UK.

If you ever see a seal that appears injured, entangled or in distress:

  • Do not approach
  • Do not touch
  • Report it to the appropriate authorities

Untrained intervention can increase stress levels, cause further injury, lead to abandonment of seal pups and put you at risk.

SUP Tours & Seals — Keeping Encounters Safe

Stand-up paddleboarding offers a unique perspective of the coastline — and occasionally seals may be spotted resting on beaches or swimming nearby.

When this happens, we promote clear guidance:

  • Stay at least 50 metres away from seals on land
  • Never paddle directly towards them
  • Do not block their access to the sea
  • Keep noise levels calm
  • Move away immediately if a seal repeatedly raises its head or enters the water suddenly

If a seal chooses to approach you, stay calm and let it control the distance. Wildlife should always have the choice.

How to Watch Seals Safely 🦭

  • Observe quietly
  • Keep your distance
  • Keep dogs on leads near haul-out areas
  • Never feed them
  • Never touch them
  • Report injured or entangled animals to the correct authorities

Did You Know?

  • Grey seals can weigh up to 300kg — they may look relaxed, but they are powerful wild animals.
  • Taking a selfie that disturbs a seal can potentially be an offence under UK wildlife legislation.
  • Seal pups can be abandoned if human presence repeatedly disrupts bonding between mother and pup.
  • Seals often ‘spy hop’ — lifting their heads vertically out of the water — out of curiosity.

It’s Not Just Seals

Our coastline also supports cliff-nesting seabirds, migratory birds, sensitive rockpool ecosystems and seasonal fish spawning grounds.

Even small actions can have an impact — trampling fragile habitats, leaving litter behind, or allowing dogs to roam near wildlife resting areas.

Why This Matters to Ocean Users

Healthy marine ecosystems mean cleaner water, stronger coastal resilience and a sustainable future for surfing and paddleboarding.

We love seeing seals in the lineup. We love spotting them from a SUP board. But we love knowing they feel safe even more.

Because the best wildlife encounter is one where the animal carries on exactly as it was — undisturbed, wild, and thriving.

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Tori

Manager & Head Surf Coach

Known as Secretspot’s “Mother Hen,” Tori truly lives and breathes surfing. With over 20 years of surf experience, 16 years coaching, and 12 years as part of the Secretspot family, she plays a central role in everything we do. Tori manages all activities across the surf school and leads our coaching programme as Head Surf Coach, with a particular passion for junior development and performance surfing.

She created and leads our SuperGroms junior progression programme, helping young surfers build strong foundations and progress with confidence. Tori also delivers our advanced lessons, using video analysis, performance drills, and tailored coaching to support surfers looking to take their skills to the next level. Alongside this, she works as a Surfing England Coach Trainer Assessor, delivering coach courses here at Cayton Bay, and volunteers as a Team England Junior Squad Coach, supporting the next generation of competitive surfers.

You’ll probably recognise Tori from our socials, where she provides daily video surf reports, keeping the local community up to date with conditions and surf forecasts. Away from the water, she’s deeply involved in the local surf scene as the founder and chair of Scarborough Boardriders Club CIC and is often behind the scenes organising local surf contests, events, and socials.

During the busy summer months, Tori can be found at Cayton Bay day in, day out, making sure the surf school runs smoothly. When winter rolls around, she heads off to enjoy some free surfing at favourite destinations such as El Salvador, Bali and Ireland, before returning refreshed and ready for another season.

Paul "Tomo"

Owner

The backbone of our business, Tomo has grown up surfing Scarborough and has dedicated his life to the surf industry in the North East. With deep local knowledge and decades of experience in the water, he represents everything our surf school stands for: authenticity, expertise, and a genuine passion for the coastline we call home.

In 2008, Tomo took over the surf school from Ross and brought it together with Secretspot Surf Shop, established in 1989. As one of the oldest surf shops in the UK—and the largest in the North East—Secretspot has long been at the heart of the local surf community. Combining the two businesses was a natural progression, allowing Tomo to carry forward a shared ethos built on local knowledge, surf culture, and a lifelong love of Cayton Bay.

The philosophy has always been simple: run by surfers, for surfers. That means providing the best possible equipment, honest advice, and coaching rooted in real experience—whether you’re standing on a board for the first time or looking to progress your skills.

Known affectionately as our “Chief of Coasteering,” Tomo grew up exploring every nook and cranny of the East Coast. That lifelong familiarity with the coastline led him to become a trained coasteering instructor and to introduce coasteering to the Yorkshire Coast. Over the years, he has personally developed and led thousands of coasteering sessions, continually refining them to create the safe, professional, and unforgettable experiences we offer today.

Tomo’s depth of experience, commitment to safety, and passion for sharing the coastline are the foundation of everything we do.