Who Needs Anemones? — Divers for Life in Carlingford Lough

A short documentary by Lia Philcox: an insider’s portrait of local divers turned citizen scientists 

When filmmaker and diver Lia Philcox turned her camera on the people who dive in Carlingford Lough, she found more than a series of underwater shots — she found stories. 

Who Needs Anemones? — Divers for Life in Carlingford Lough follows local volunteers as they train with Seasearch, supported by the Shifting Tides project. Together, they learn to record what they see beneath the surface, gradually transforming curiosity into meaningful citizen-science data. 

The film premiered at the end of the summer, bringing the project’s community-focused work to audiences in Carlingford and Rostrevor. Screenings continue across the island. 

To Watch the Film

Who Need Anemones can be viewed on the Seasearch Website- LINK https://seasearchireland.ie/who-needs-anemones-divers-for-life-in-carlingford-lough/

If you’re interested in arranging a community or club screening of the film in your local area, contact the filmmaker Lia Philcox @ liaphilcox@yahoo.co.uk

At the heart of the documentary are three personal stories — intimate, human moments that reveal why people choose to spend their weekends donning drysuits and swimming through chilly waters. We watch them master Seasearch survey methods, nervously hand in their first field forms, and beam with delight at unexpected discoveries. 

Seasearch’s volunteer training turns recreational divers into data collectors whose findings feed local and national biodiversity records, strengthening the case for better coastal protection and management. (seasearchireland.ie).

Visually, the film is full of surprises. The lough, often seen as a quiet estuary, bursts with colour and life beneath the surface. Underwater footage reveals burrowing anemones, nudibranchs, pipefish, juvenile flatfish and a wealth of other marine species — creatures that many in the audience admitted they’d never imagined living there. This new perspective reframes how locals view their own shoreline. 

The Shifting Tides team and Seasearch volunteers have shown through these dives that Carlingford Lough is not just a scenic inlet but a site of ecological richness and scientific importance. 

If the film leaves you wanting to know more, explore the resources available at theshiftingtides.org/resources. 

Watching this documentary is a powerful reminder of how storytelling and citizen science can transform what a community knows — and how it cares — about the sea on its doorstep. 

Share it with a friend who still thinks “there’s nothing much under there” — and perhaps consider joining a Seasearch training dive yourself. The lough still has plenty of surprises waiting to be discovered. Get in touch if you would like to host a screening of the film.