I am the reaper

As some of may know, I volunteer at coconut island helping with pelagic research. I went up Monday to help John catch stingrays in the bay. Instead of the troll nets we've been using up to this point, he talks about pulling in some long lines. For those of you unfamiliar with them, long lines are basically several hundred feet of rope with hooks attached at specific intervals which lay along the seabed.

Anyways, the whole time we're doing this, I couldn't help but wonder how he planned on getting the hooks out of their mouths without getting a finger chomped on. When asking about his specific goals, he's telling me about analyzing their stomach contents and sampling their spines for age... Sampling their spines? I only a few ways of "sampling" spines from critters and I don't believe any of them would be considered non-invasive.

So we're going out to murder stingrays today!? Now I don't have any qualms about killing creatures but they typically have to meet one of two criteria. They must either be: 1. tasty like a fish or 2. I must find their existence offensive like roaches or small children. Since the stingray falls into neither of these two categories, I can't say that I was particularly pleased about what was going to transpire.

After hauling two on board and the rest of the line, it's time to do the deed... Did you know that the stingray’s eyes bulge out when you sever their spines? Not to mention all the blood covering your feet and the deck. Ugh. I can't say that I find being a marine biologist to be pleasing right now.