Week 3: Scorching Hot Heat

Here we are again back at Piers Park, hanging out with the kids. Like the usual we start the days off by playing games with them: everyone is it, fishy fishy cross my ocean, and various ball games. Into the next activity, we all head to the dock where we prepare the fishing rods and crab traps. Here, the kids enjoy picking up and touching the crabs in the touch tank, fishing in the harbor, or just bearing the summer heat. From the crab trap, we were delighted to find a lot of spider crabs, some of the invasive green crabs, and Atlantic rock crabs. Afterwards, we head out to lunch and that's where I explore East Boston. After lunch, we head back to lead a lesson with the kids, where we had various lessons such as: crossword puzzles, competitions, and guessing games all around the creatures from the harbor. We soon head back to the dock to finish our day. 

Throughout the week here, some creatures form the harbor that we have caught are the crabs, a mackerel, and skates:

A fun fact about the Atlantic mackerel the females can lay around 280,000 eggs and larger females can lay around 2 million eggs. The typical size lays around 30 cm to upwards of 60cm. Usually found in the temperate waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the northern Atlantic Ocean. It appears along the coast in the spring and leaves with the approach of cooler weather in the fall and winter. Eating crustaceans like shrimp, krill, and copepods. They also consume some fish, ascidians, and squid.

Skates are cartilaginous fish, but unlike rays and other Rajiformes, they have a flat body shape and flat pectoral fins that run the length of their bodies. Their size varies from 2ft long to 9.5 feet. Living in seas from the shallows to depths of more than 2,700 meters, from tropical to near-Arctic environments. Others reside in regions with gravel or even mud as opposed to those with soft, sandy bottoms. They often eat various invertebrate animals, including crabs, lobsters, shrimp, clams, worms, squid, and tiny fish.

Next week I hope that we have many more fun games with the kids. Catch some new animals from the harbor. Enjoy the summer heat, and mostly have fun. Signing off from the harbor,

Alex