At a beach in Caernarfon, Wales, Martyn Green and his family discovered sea creatures that they've never seen before. They found nearly 2,000 Gooseneck Barnacles, a crustacean, on a large piece of driftwood that washed up on the beach.
The sea creature is the most expensive seafood in the word worth nearly $32 apiece. Martyn estimated that their entire discovery was worth over $65,000.
Martyn shared that his wife, Gemma made the discovery and called the rest of the family. Since Goosenecked Barnacle are a rare find in Wales, 'it was quite an attraction for the locals,' he said.
His son Daniel quickly Google searched the mysterious creature that 'it looked like something not of this world,' and confirmed the species of the sea creature. The family took a video of the hundreds of Gooseneck Barnacles moving in and out of its shells. The family did not reveal the exact location of their discovery due to its potential value.
Percebes
Also known as stalked or goose barnacles, the Spanish call the delicacy percebes, which translates to 'do you understand?' Their flavor has been compared to razor clams, crab meat, and sweet lobster.
They can also be found attached to ships, rocks, and ropes. Their diet consists of plankton and organic matter called detritus.
In 2017, researchers from the University of Oregon were searching for methods to farm gooseneck barnacles, which are common in the West Coast. They also studied if there were enough of the crustaceans to sustain commercial harvesting in southern Oregon. Their findings suggested 'that wild populations are unlikely to sustain long-term commercial harvest should the market significantly expand beyond its current size,' wrote Julia Bingham, one of the researchers.
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Costa da Morte
They are also expensive because the finest percebes are found at Costa da Morte (Coast of Death) in Spain. Fishermen risk serious injuries and even death at the coasts' sharp rocks and fierce high tides just to get some good barnacles and make a good sale.
Alvaro Laiz, a photographer who created a photo series called 'Atlantes' documented how one village fished for percebes. 'The way of life of the people from the Coast of Death has changed quickly during the last 15 years, and I wanted to document and be part of this transition,' he shared, describing Spain's economic recession.
Traditionally, harvesting goose barnacles was work only for men or percebeiros, but due to economic hardships, women also spend hours looking for the expensive sea creature as well. Villagers also gather sea urchins and razor shells.
'Because of the danger they face while collecting goose barnacles, they have been always surrounded by a certain aura," Laiz shared. After spending quite some time with the locals, he noticed that they only wanted to be seamen who knew and respected the risk of the ocean.
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