Burning the midnight oil

Another working day. Some people are already finish, some of us have still several hours ahead before we can call it a day. We haven’t seen anything around us until four in the afternoon, when the fog lifted for a while. We have also had winds over 26 knots and more than enough big waves. Uncomfortable for us and cold and wet for the deckhands, that remain very cheerful nevertheless.

These conditions have kept us in the shallower zone of the area we have left, but we could work, which is the main thing. Catches lower than expected but at least we are seeing juveniles often, which is good news.

But time is running out, and we have to get down to business. Today we have with us a couple of Tryglops murrayi, appropriately called moustache sculpin. They like shallow water and sandy bottoms, which sounds suspiciously similar to a beach to me, and eating crustaceans. So there you go, beach and seafood for these two.

Mr and Mrs Murrayi, he, with the tiny moustache, to the left.

In the same haul came these very large barnacles. Bizarre, right? Well, they are closely related to crabs and lobsters. When environmental conditions are not good enough they close their valves and can keep inside temperatures different to those outside, as well as moisture, for hours, for example while the tide is low. They are also responsible for massive investments into research devoted to find ways to prevent their attachment to submerged structures because they contribute to their deterioration.

Barnacles seen from above, see the closed valves

The barnacles as seen from the side

And to finish a few pictures of hard working people. By the way, by the time you will see this it will be Nair's birthday. Happy birthday!!!!

 

Alberto, David and Jesús in bad weather

Rai, Adriana, Marta and Nair, Iñaki barely seen in the background

Andrés, Roi, Alba, Eduardo and Venicio. These people move so fast I cannot get them all in the picture.