In an octopus' garden...
I went snorkeling today for about the fourth time in my life. This is going to sound really stupid, especially for a biologist, but I never really realised that there were fish living right next to the beach. Right where the people are.
We saw bream and leatherjacket and other fish I'd only ever known as plastic signs standing in ice over lumps of flesh. We also saw an eagle ray which was just coasting along over the rocks doing his thing. He was really beautiful to watch, especially the way he moved so effortlessly through the water. We also saw a 70s jellyfish; it was purple with orange shag pile tentacles. He appeared rather suddenly out of the murk and I avoided him only by deploying a spectacularly inelegant movie. Stupid 70s.
Tiger suggested next time we go snorkeling she'll take some fish spears so we can serenely snorkel through this marine paradise and then stab fish to death so we can eat them. I disagreed. I like looking at the fish as they are. I know that someone, somewhere kills the fish that I occasionally eat. But that person doesn't have to be me, thank you.
A sweetlips in non-consumer ready form
We saw bream and leatherjacket and other fish I'd only ever known as plastic signs standing in ice over lumps of flesh. We also saw an eagle ray which was just coasting along over the rocks doing his thing. He was really beautiful to watch, especially the way he moved so effortlessly through the water. We also saw a 70s jellyfish; it was purple with orange shag pile tentacles. He appeared rather suddenly out of the murk and I avoided him only by deploying a spectacularly inelegant movie. Stupid 70s.
Tiger suggested next time we go snorkeling she'll take some fish spears so we can serenely snorkel through this marine paradise and then stab fish to death so we can eat them. I disagreed. I like looking at the fish as they are. I know that someone, somewhere kills the fish that I occasionally eat. But that person doesn't have to be me, thank you.
A sweetlips in non-consumer ready form