An Abundance of Arthropods

Henry sporting his catch of the day!

Fishing at Community Boating with their environmental science group is definitely a new experience for me. I'm accustomed to fishing for salt water fish so the fresh water environment of the Charles River and the different fish it harbors took me a little getting used to. We began our day baiting our hooks with--
would you believe it-- canned corn kernels in order to attract fresh water organisms. After experiencing minimal success with this, however, my team and I re-rigged the fishing lines using swim-bait lures and my did our luck change! One of my team members was able to catch their first fish! The kids were invigorated by seeing him holding his newly caught fish and, though they themselves did not reel anything in, absolutely cannot wait to get back on the river and drop in their fishing lines!

Our touch tank was teeming with
rambunctious arthropods.

This week of All Access my team and I are stationed at Georges Island. Today was quite hectic with all the groups of campers. Thankfully, through collaboration with their counselors, we were able to introduce a number of them to the joys of fishing in Boston Harbor! A number of the children expressed their inexperience with fishing, while others shared with me memories from previous fishing adventures; one helpful camper was even able to assist my team and I in instructing his peers on how to cast properly. We came so close to reeling in a fish on one of the lines, but it eluded us as we tried to get it onto the dock! There was, however, no shortage of crabs biting on our lines as we caught a number of green and Jonah crabs. The kids were delighted to interact with these arthropods as they probed the inside of our touch tank, fascinated by the crabs' animation. Tomorrow we are heading back for round 2, I have a feeling we'll be pulling up a lot more creatures with a lot less legs-- I will keep you posted!

Sincerely,
Maxwilliams