Fort Point Marine Joint

   This week my group was at the Fort Point Channel, we didn’t get the greatest week because of the weather. However, we did the best we could and made do. On Tuesday, we started up the underwater drone to see what lived in Boston’s very own Fort Point channel. Fishing wise we didn’t catch anything, but we saw a striped bass pass by the camera. We also pulled up a crab but we didn’t get very lucky because it started to thunder and lightning and we left. On Wednesday and Thursday we were on boats. We fished on Wednesday in the harbor and walked around the Bell on Thursday. On our fishing trip on Wednesday we caught skates and some spider crabs.

A picture of a portion of the Boston sky line from Fort Point Channel.

    A skate is a marine animal that is closely related to a sting ray. When you look at a skate you may mistake it for a sting ray because they look so similar but a skate doesn’t have a stinger like a sting ray does. However, they do have sharp spikes on their tails that can protect them if need be. Also, skates don’t have as long a tail as sting rays do. They swim on the floor of the ocean like sting rays because it makes it easier for them to hide in the sand from their predators. They can be found in tropical to near-Artic waters. Skates eyes can be located on the top of their body’s because it helps them, along with stingrays to scope out the area around them for potential predators coming their way.

Picture of a skate.

    On the boating trip Wednesday, we also caught spider crabs in the crab trap. Spider crabs can live on the bottom of oceans, bays, and harbors. You can find spider crabs in places from Nova Scotia to the western Gulf of Mexico. They mostly eat algae, large starfish, and detritus. A common spider crab has long legs and they cover themselves in ocean debris and algae as a defense mechanism against their predators. They have pretty bad eyesight and unlike their scary appearance, they are unaggressive and sluggish. Most crabs walk side to side but spider crabs usually walk in forward motions. When they spread their legs all the way out they can reach up to one foot in size.

Sea You Later!
Madi

A common spider crab you’d find on the bottom of an ocean, bay, or harbor.