Did You See That?!

Me instructing a group of teens how to cast and
care for their rods.

It was another fun week at Georges Island! The hustle and bustle of shuttling the 400+ passengers to the ferry every morning is blissfully interrupted by a soothing ride across the harbor to the island. The campers and counselors alike buzz at the sight of our fishing equipment as we board the boat, pleading to enroll in the day's fishing club-- I am so thankful for my team member Patrice who has assumed the responsibility of helping me structure the club's schedule and often assists in touring the boat in search of eager children to come fish with us!

I wish you had seen the size of this thing!

This week yielded zero fish caught on the island. All day we were reeling up crab after crab, mostly green shore crabs with a few red rock crabs peppered into the mix. I admit, though, the kids never seemed disappointed. Many of them have never gone fishing before, or had never had the luck of hooking anything; they are honestly just satisfied with actually having caught a sea creature, from within the same harbor they call home no less. Today, as a few of the kids and I were hoisting our crab trap, we spied a humongous-sized spider crab clinging to the outside of the net! Believe me when I say I was not the only one that was frightened! I was sure small dogs couldn't breathe underwater, but the size of the figure's silhouette really made me doubt myself for a second! Sadly, the crab let go of the trap before it broke the surface of the water so we weren't able to grab a pic. I left an extra big piece of bait in the trap for it though so hopefully we'll have another chance at capturing photo evidence tomorrow, I will keep you posted.

It's a starfish!

We weren't completely disappointed though, today one of the kids reeled up a starfish! My colleague Jenn jumped into action, identifying for the group of campers and Save the Harbor staff alike, the madreporite and its role of filtering water in the starfish's vascular system. My favorite were the looks on the childrens' faces as she went on to explain how starfish fed by expelling their stomachs out of their mouths and externally digesting their lunch; a very fitting description as it seemed as though some of the campers' partially digested lunches would soon be making an appearance of their own!

Until next time,
Maxwilliams