Interesting catch in Dorchester

Crabbing off the docks never gets old for Boston Harbor Explorers in Dorchester! Once again, we used the crab traps to see which group could find the most crabs. In the beginning, we were using hot dogs as bait. The kids soon learned that crabs like to eat mussels too! Here are a few boys who were successful in finding a mussel attached to the dock. We caught many more crabs using the mussels than the hot dogs, why do you think that is?

We brought up one of the traps and one of the explorers commented that one of the crabs looked really strange. It was a pregnant green crab! You can click on the image on the right to enlarge it. Look at the crab's "belly" area and you can see the large mound of eggs. Reproductive events vary by the size of the female, but most females can produce over 150,000 eggs in one event! We made sure to take the female crab and put her back into the water gently. At the end of the day, the campers exclaimed that they caught over 155, 000 crabs! Although I wouldn't let them count the eggs in our crab count, they did find an astonishing 55 green crabs that day! Another great day in Dorchester!

~Aimee

Exploration using the underwater camera

Using an underwater camera is a great experience for the kids. We put the camera near our traps to see if we could see any crabs coming our way. Some kids spotted small schools of silversides passing by. We also used the camera to look under the nearby boats. Someone has some scrubbing to do!

In Dorchester, we were able to look under the docks to see the anemones, orange sheath tunicates, mussels, and sea squirts! The best part was looking at the "dancing" skeleton shrimp; they were everywhere! We all enjoyed the opportunity to look beneath the ocean's surface using the underwater camera.

~Aimee

Fishing for...Lobster??

There we were, fishing off the docks at Camp Harbor View on Long Island.  One of the kid's yells, "I've got something!!".  Everyone runs over as he pulls up his line; you can see the anticipation on everyone's face.  We look over the edge expecting to see a fish come sailing out of the water.  Will it be a flounder, a striped bass?  No, it's a lobster!  Here is Marissa with our successful (and surprised) fishermen!

This lobster was very young and its carapace measured only 3.5 inches.  After passing it around and observing it on the dock, we let the little lobster go back in the water.  What an interesting catch!  

~Aimee

Crab Wars

At Camp Harbor View, we had a competition between groups to see who could find the most crabs at low tide. Armed with dipping nets, we marched for the shore with buckets in hand to begin our hunt. The groups spread out on the rocky shore and looked under rocks for crabs. You need to catch them quick before they get away!

After about 20 minutes, most of the nets returned to the beach and the kids were chasing the crabs with their bare hands. Working as teams, one would move the rock while others tracked down the crabs to put in their team's bucket. The types of crabs we found were Asian Shore crabs, Shore crabs, Green crabs, and Hermit crabs. At the end of the day we tallied up the number of crabs and found that with both teams combined, the kids found over 400 crabs!

~Aimee

Mad Scientists!

The kids in Quincy this week had the opportunity to try their hand at some science experiments.  Everyone put on gloves and safety glasses before beginning our experiment.  Safety first!  We took the air and water temperature and recorded our information in our log book. 

Using the water quality testing kit, we were able to measure the pH of the water at Black's Creek as well as some puddles in the parking lot.  

We found that the rain found in the puddle was more acidic than the water in the creek!  Next, we used pH paper to test other liquids in the area.  The Gatorade turned the pH paper bright pink, showing that it was acidic.  On the other hand, the bleach turned the pH paper dark blue, proving that it is basic.  Everyone enjoyed comparing the pH of all the liquids.  I think we may be creating some scientists!!

~Aimee

Crabs, tunicates and skeleton shrimp...Oh My!!

In Dorchester this week, we headed to the docks with our crab traps and nets hoping to find lots of life in the water below. Everyone enjoyed bringing up the traps to see if any crabs were enticed by our bait. The hardest part is picking up the crab out of the trap to put in the bucket. In this picture on the right, we are grabbing the green crab by it's shell so it cannot reach us with its claws. By the end of our session, we were successful in catching about 15 green crabs!

While waiting for our traps to settle, we took nets and scraped the side of the dock. We were amazed to see all the different things living under the dock and on the pilings. We found blue mussels, skeleton shrimp, sea squirts, golden star and orange sheath tunicates. Who knew that we would find so many fouling organisms growing right beneath us!

BHE at Camp Harbor View and Quincy Rec

Hi! My name is Aimee and I lead the Harbor Explorers at Quincy and Camp Harbor View.

Aimee and two Harbor View Campers

At Camp Harbor View, we utilize the beautiful new pier to go fishing in the afternoon. Last week, a boy who had never fished before caught a 21-inch striped bass! At low tide, the kids love to have crab hunts and one group found over 30 asian shore crabs this week. While walking the wrack line on Long Island, the explorers have found a moon snail's egg case, hermit crabs, mud snails, mussels, conch shells, and even sea urchin shells. You never know what kind of marine life you will find at Camp Harbor View!

At Black's Creek in Quincy, our explorers enjoy searching for green crabs, horseshoe crabs, and many other forms of marine life. Using crab traps and bait, we've caught some large green crabs off the docks. The kids can identify the green crabs by the 5 spines on either side of its eyes. With the dipping nets, the explorers have excelled at finding small silversides and amphipods. Each day poses a challenge to catch something new and learn more about the organisms that reside in Black's Creek.

For more information on the program, you should check out our Kids Page. Or, feel free to add your own stories from Quincy or Camp Harbor View n in the comments!