Shannon Point

This is a left speckled sanddab. I saw it on the research vessel out in the water, after trawling at 30 meters the captain pulled the net in, and I took this picture. It's right eye has migrated over to the left side of its head, hence the name left speckled sanddab. It was swimming around in the water before the net pulled it out. This is a consumer in the ecological environment. The most interesting thing I saw was a Dungeness Crab and a Red Rock Crab engaged in some kind of fight in the intertidal area. The bucket in the boat was also super cool, as there were so many species of fish and marine organisms in such a small bucket. I definitely have a different viewpoint on the waters off the Pacific Northwest. I knew they were diverse, but I didn't know they were this diverse, with so many species in such a small area. It makes me wonder how many other hundreds of species are in the waters off our coast. My question would be this. Why are certain tips of crab pinchers like the Red Rock Crab black, while others, like the Dungeness Crab pinchers white?