Memorial Day weekend has brought Transient Killer whales (an obvious highlight), but the smaller animals are what caught the eye of travelers before we even left Roche Harbor to explore and look for wildlife. Near the docks were crabs scuttling on the sandy bottoms, jellyfish floating amongst the kelp, an Ochre star fish, and a mysterious new alien creature- a Tube-snout fish.
A Tube-snout fish is a long, skinny fish that stays close to the water’s surface in small schools. It only grows to about 7 inches long and has nearly 27 small spikes along its spine. Most notably, it has a very long snout extending from its eye, and a very small little back fin propelling it forward with sharp, quick movements. It is related to sticklebacks, which also have spines along their backs. The Tube-snout attaches its eggs to kelp using a sticky secretion from its kidneys. When it isn’t darting amongst kelp and jellyfish, these fish are feeding on small floating crustaceans and fish larvae. They prefer living in eelgrass, kelp beds, rocky crevices, and sandy substrate.
Although these are small little critters, they still captured the attention of onlookers and visitors throughout the weekend. These should have been a sign as a good omen for our trip, because after we departed San Juan Island, we came across orcas! Four transients (later identified as T101’s) were spotted milling about near Vancouver Island, and three of them were large males with massive 6-foot tall dorsal fins skimming through the waters. It was an exciting day full of all creatures great and small!