4th of July

Ken, of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, interviews Sean about his research and findings. Copyright PSRF/JanaS.
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The Fourth of July – Happy Birthday Mom! In honor of your birthday, I will once again play in the mud!

We had a slightly later start today, rising at 6 a.m. Since we are timing our surveys with the tides, of course, our schedule changes depending on low tide times. Our location for the day was called Little Rubis and while conditions for the day were amazing, there was only one catch – a male thornback. Even that was at the very last minute.

We thought that we were going to have our first “skunk” day, meaning nothing happened, but then he showed up just as we were about to shut down for the day. Actually it was a great catch, because out of several hundred thornback rays caught, tagged and released this year, this was only the second male. That may help prove that the Slough is a vital area for birthing and nursing, but not for males to hang out in…

Sean motions for the playful sea lion pup to go away from the net, and surprisingly, he follows orders. Copyright PSRF/JanaS.
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Though there was not much in the way of catches, there certainly was a lot of “behind the scenes” action taking place. Andrea had developed some food poisoning the night before and basically slept in the Zodiak the entire time. Ken, from the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, videotaped the day. While there was not much action, as mentioned before,he conducted interviews, and got footage of us setting up the nets. There were also many crabs around the area. Two species, in particular, are quite prevalent in the area – the shoreline crab, which is native to the Slough, and the green crab, which is invasive.

This is the shoreline crab, native to the area. Copyright PSRF/JanaS.
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However, the best part of the day was a visitor in the form of a sea lion that followed our boats on the way out to the site, and stuck around for a bit. He swam alongside the boats, much like dolphins do in the open ocean, and was very playful. Sean suspects he was a rehabilitated sea lion, since he was so “friendly”. However, when it came time to set up the nets, we needed to make sure that he was not in the area, and accidentally get caught up. He actually followed orders, when Sean gestured toward the ocean (see the pic). It was adorable.

When we return to the house, we all hang our wetsuits out to dry for the next day. Unfortunately, drying does not always take place...Copyright PSRF/JanaS.
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The mud today was not too bad. It was rather shallow, but definitely had the most suction of the muds we have encountered so far. The temperature was wonderful and the water was actually rather clear, as far as mud water goes. However, many complained that the mud was stinging them (possibly hydroids caught in it), though I did not feel it. In fact Leon had some nasty red marks and bumps as a result.

We got back to the house early afternoon, and did our usual relaxing until dinner time. In honor of the 4^th of July, we had a b-b-q, corn on the cob and delicious cheesy bread (courtesy of Leon). There were fireworks in both Capitola and Monterey, that we could see and hear in the distance, but due to an early morning the next day, we were all in bed by 9:30.

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