The Fisherman, the crabs and the jellyfish - Day 37

I went to the beach today(2nd August) morning.  It was low tide, it had rained overnight and I was hoping to see some pretty shells.

There were flags in the water - indicating either rocks or sand bars?  It is the first time I have seen this.

The waves were crashing into one another and the waters glistened, catching the morning sun.

The morning belonged to this fisherman clearing his net.  He was surrounded by a bunch of young girls, who oohed and aahed at everything in his net.  Their cheer and delight was infectious.  I told them about sunset siliqua, hermit crabs and the moon crabs that were caught in the net.  They were delighted and I was delighted at their delight.

The fisherman worked patiently on his net and the crows were also patient.  We were the impatient ones.

He freed moon crabs stuck in the net, and we moved them to the water's edge, and it was amazing how quickly they went into the wet sand.

Matuta victor, also known as the common moon crab,

I always see dead Common Moon crabs once the boats come in.  They are part of by catch,  and many times they may die in the nets, and they are not put back in the sea.  The crows peck out the flesh and I would see only the carapace.

The fisherman (I should have asked him his name), said that it is too bony and too little flesh and so it is not commercially sold.  

Today, we managed to put four of them back into the sea, alive, and were happy to see them disappearing into the sand, before we could even say "moon crab", and before the waiting crows could get at them.

So today, I saw living, scuttling moon crabs for the first time.

They have these flat pads on their feet, and this is an adaptation for quickly burying themselves in the sand.  The pads work like spades and they dig real fast - I witnessed this today.

I also saw the ubiquitous pallid ghost crabs. a couple of murex se snails, with the snail within.  We moved these also back into the waters.

I walked on, in a happy frame of mind, past the kids building in the sand, the sleeping dogs , the photoshoot couples and back onto the road and home with wet shoes, pants and a smile on my face.

However, the day's excitement was not done.  I went back to the beach in the evening, to plan for the Madras Day walks with Kalpana and Harini.  

We walk along the shore, more in the water than out, getting our feet wet, finding broken bits of shell, revising the stories we need to share, when we come across something on the sand that looks blubbery, transparent and jelly-like.

Peering at it closely and we could see the canals inside.  It has probably got beached as the tide receded, and the hot sun and sand led to its death.  We moved it back to the sea, giving it a watery grave.