Fishermen off the cost of Nova Scotia have been pulling up weird-looking creatures along with their lobster traps and scientists want to hear from those who are snagging them.
The marine animals, called salps, are a barrel-shaped, planktonic tunicate. It moves by contracting, thus pumping water through its gelatinous body. This is also used for locomotion, and salp jet propulsion is one of the most efficient in the animal kingdom. The salp strains the pumped water through its internal feeding filters, feeding on phytoplankton.
Katie Baker posted a series of photos of the salps to the Facebook page of a local lobster fishermen’s association in late November, sparking a lengthy online conversation. One woman replied she had seen them all over the beach at John’s Cove in Nova Scotia.
The entire beach was covered in them, recalled another woman named Rebeckah Fitzgerald, who saw the salps in late September.
The water line looked like thousands of mini jelly fish and you could literally take your hands if you walked out knee high and scoop handfuls of them from the water.
Authorities would like to hear from anyone who has found one of these strange creatures. If you have salps catches to report, email AZMP-PMZA@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
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