If you're lucky on a Bay of Fundy beach after a particularly turbulant tide you can catch a rare deposit of starfish high & dry. Such was my luck this weekend on West Advocate Beach, Nova Scotia. I discovered several 10-in starfish caught up in the wrack line after the tide receded. They are dry, if a bit briny-smelling. Being the beachcomber that I am, I scooped this one up with the intention of giving it a new home on my bookshelf!
If you think I'm being insensitive to the plight of the starfish you need to know that life is tough for our marine creatures in the intertidal zone. At high tide, cold water smothers plants and sea creatures at high tide; sun cooks them at low tide in summer & ice encases them in winter. So, yes, we do get some casualties - it's just part of life around the world's biggest tide bay...
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Bay of Fundy starfish tide
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In November 2009, there were 300 dead starfish and many sea urchins along the Bay of Fundy shore in St. Martins, NB. I brought home 89 starfish and about 30 intact sea urchins. I put them in the greenhouse as due to the smell I wasn't"allowed" to bring them into the house. They froze, thawed, froze again. I tried everything suggested on internet to dry them. They stank and eventually started to disintegrate. So I painted one purple as I had no varethene. I do a series of Bay of Fundy art cards. My partner said "that won't sell". It is one of my bestsellers. I hadn't heard the term starfish tide, guess I'll be back on the beach after Irene! thanks, Storme Arden
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