Aquacast

While every day in Edmonds is a joy, the special atmosphere around Christmas renders the same visit magical. The shops on Main Street have many wares to sample, and tourists in a rainbow of thick winter coats pass by as you shop. At night the crowds disperse and thousands of Christmas Lights dot the darkened town. The docks are the same, even down to the twinkling lights that adorn the sailboats.

The denizens that call the frigid water home have their own bits of twinkling light, if you look right. Take a flashlight down to the docks at a low tide and scan around in the water. You never know what you’ll find. Tonight, I was treated to a visit from the mascot of Aquacast, a Spotted Ratfish! We’ve covered this species before, but to see one so close was a real treat. Pictures after the break!

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Hello my fellow swimmers, and I apologize for the delay in this post!

The summer has been a warm one here in the Pacific Northwest, and many have taken the time to go and visit the beaches in our lovely land! I have recently joined up with a group of volunteers who’ve taken it upon themselves to educate others and provide manpower for citizen science initiatives that help to improve our understanding and ability to care for the waterways we all know and love. Training was a long, fascinating series of university level classes that involved speaking to experts from across the sound from a myriad of different fields. If you want to give back to the Sailsh Sea, spend a lot of time near the water, and meet a group of amazing people, please come check us out!

Beach Watchers

I will post in followup posts some of the adventures we all get into, so look forward to it! Here’s hoping we get to see you all on the beach.

Keep swimming.

The Puget Sound is such an amazing place to live, and every once in awhile the beauty of our land slaps you in the proverbial face and leaves one breathless. Today, on one of my many walks along the docks this week, I happened to be fortunate enough to catch a lovely shot of the sun shining over our beloved waters.

Copyright 2018 Ryan Crabtree

Sometimes it’s easy to forget what most people love about this place when you spend most of your days focused under the waves. Take a moment to step away from your concerns for a moment to appreciate the beauty of where we live. The more we love the land we inhabit, the more likely we will take steps to save it.

Pick up some trash, ride the bus, shop locally grown produce and decline plastic packaging at every opportunity, so that this same world will be here to pass on to our children when the time comes.

Keep swimming.

Hello, my fellow swimmers.

Night time on the docks is probably my favourite place in the world, and every once in awhile, you see some incredibly strange sights.

Well, I say strange, but only to us. For these Acorn Barnacles, it’s a joyous occasion! Assuming of course that barnacles have a sense  of joy! Seen below, these barnacles are in the process of mating. Take a look below the picture for all the sordid details.

In this shot, we see several barnacles reproductive organs intertwined and seeking a mate. A good portion of species of barnacles are hermaphroditic, which means they possess the reproductive organs of both genders. However, despite having both sets of equipment, they still require another barnacle to mate with. While some barnacles are thought to be capable of self-fertilization, these little guys are not. Once their ultra-long organs have found another barnacle in which to deposit it’s sperm, the penis dissolves away, only to be re-grown the next time mating season comes along.

Low tide always brings along fascinating things to see at the docks and shore, whether it’s a seal hunting in the waters below your feet, or the barnacles enjoying their winter rendezvous. I highly recommend getting out into the cold and poking along the water line. You never know what you’ll see!

Stick around, and look forward to a new podcast episode very soon. We’re going to talk about the enigmatic Brown Catshark and a couple others as we continue exploring the shark species of Puget Sound!

Keep Swimming,

The Bald Fish Guy