On the 18th June 2012 we had a Sea Kayaking session. We took the GoPro along to get some footage as the sea has been so clear the last few weeks. As we made out way along the route we came across a particulary clear lagoon around 6meters deep and even then you could see the bottom clear as day. There also happend to be around 100 Jellyfish in there (a nightmare for some people) which was awesome to see along with loads of lesser sand eel.
I managed to get a sneaky bit of video footage. Check it out…..
The boys have also gathered some gems of information for you on both the Jellys and Sand eels below.
Common Blue jellyfish: – Cyanea lamarckii
Occuring in coastal waters all around the British Isles. It has been recorded from the Shetland
Islands, the Orkneys, along the east coast of England, Dartmouth in the south and up through the
west coasts of England and Wales.
Up to 15cms in diameter, the Blue Jellyfish is a common visitor to our coasts from May to October.
It feeds on plankton primarily but will eat anything that sticks to its long train of stinging tentacles,
including other jellyfish.
To a human, the sting is less severe than a nettle sting and does not last long but this may depend on
an individual’s sensitivity. Belying its name, the Blue Jellyfish is sometimes pure white!
Like other jellyfish, this is an annual animal that starts out life in late Winter as a tiny animal about
the size of a finger nail but as it drifts feeding in the plankton, it develops rapidly. At its peak its
tentacles are probably 1m long. Once the plankton supply diminishes in late Autumn and the seas
become very rough, the Blue Jellyfish dies.
LESSER SAND EEL – Ammodytes Tobianus
Commonly occurring on sandy shores, anywhere between mid-tide and depths of 30m. The Lesser
Sand Eel, (actually a fish) are long and thin with a pointed jaw, silver under belly, and an array of
colours from yellowish green on their back with a bluish tint. On a clear day you can see this fish in
abundance, helping to distinguish them is their forked shaped tail.
They tend to eat predominately zooplankton, but also larger individuals such as worms, small
crustaceans and small fish
They travel together in large shoals and when confronted by a predatory fish or imminent danger
will proceed to bury themselves in the sand until the danger has been averted. This act of burying
themselves is also used through the winter months when they will retreat up to 30cm below the
seabed.
Sand Eel is also regarded amongst anglers as one of the best baits to catch the elusive Bass around
the Cornish coastline.
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