On the coast of Scotland, a black Labrador named Sgiath works not as an ordinary rescue dog, but as a true sea detective. The six-year-old female, previously trained for mountain search, now sniffs out colonies of the invasive ascidian Didemnum vexillum, known by the nicknames 'sea vomit' or 'carpet sea squirt'. Her nose allows her to find the pest where the human eye gets lost among the seaweed.
This organism, presumably introduced from Japan, has been spreading rapidly along British shores since 2008. It forms dense carpets that smother native species and damage oyster farms and port structures. Small colonies are difficult to spot visually, and laboratory analysis takes time and money. This is where the dog's advantage comes in: Sgiath pinpoints the exact location within minutes, working during low tide.
Dr Texa Sim, a marine ecologist from the Glencoe area, noticed her pet's abilities back during mountain rescue training. She decided to put the Labrador's keen sense of smell to use for protecting the sea. Sgiath underwent special training: first she memorized the scent of the ascidian, then learned to distinguish it from other marine smells. She has now already found hundreds of colonies and, according to her owner, is almost never wrong.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in October 2026 named Sgiath 'Animal of the Year'. The award highlights not only the success of one dog, but also the promise of a new method for early detection of invasive species. Warming waters are accelerating their spread, and timely detection is becoming the key to preserving coastal ecosystems.
Sgiath's story shows how skills developed for one task find application in another field. Dogs already help fight invasive plants on land; now their noses are working in the intertidal zone as well. This partnership between humans and animals makes nature conservation more precise and cost-effective.
Sgiath remains the first dog in the United Kingdom trained specifically to search for marine ascidians, and her experience is already being studied by other specialists.
