I've never been fishing before so I couldn't turn down the opportunity of going along to a fish count last Thursday in the harbour. The sun was warm, but a modest wind cooled proceedings as along with colleagues from Langstone Harbour Board, Southern IFCA and the University of Portsmouths marine biology department we took to the water with a rather large net.
Our first catch was from the shoreline, we weren't overwhelmed by numbers but there was an interesting selection to get our teeth into, that's if the crabs didn't get there first with their voracious appetites. Fingers suitably nipped as we removed the crusty critters we put the fish into bins (oxygenated of course!) and the experts got on with the business of ID'ing, measuring and counting the various species.
Above: Counting the catch
Of course for us sandeels were top of the list, and though numbers weren't overwhelming their average size was good. These were 'lesser sand eels', their traditional habitat is the floor of the seabed, prefering a clean, sandy bottom into which they can burrow if alarmed. When their mouth is open their jaws form a tube through which food is sucked, they grow to between 5 and 10cm long and amazingly can live up to 10 years. They are an important food source for many different species of seabird including puffins, kittiwakes, fulmars and terns.
Lesser sandeels
Our second catch was made in deeper water and produced a more bountiful selection of species including sea bass, place and this lovely little squid.
Our second haul from the boat
It was a fascinating day and a rare glimpse into that hidden abundance of life that lives in our seas.
Thursday also bought hawks of a diffent kind flying over the harbour as the Red Arrows performed their familiar aerobatic display in commemoration of the 1944 D-Day landings.
I've often wondered if we'd have ever taken to the skies if we'd never seen birds, would it have occured to we terrestial beings to want to fly without their inspiration. Aviation is inextricably entwined with ornithology, the jet engine may never have been developed had it not been for the peregrine falcon. Baffles, the tiny bony tubercles in the peregrines nostrils deflects the rush of air and allows the bird to breathe when travelling at high speeds, it also prevents damage to the lungs. Look at the cone at the centre of every jet engine - it does exactly the same thing, controlling the airflow required for flight - nature thinks of everything first!