Recent stormy conditions have carried rare sea creatures looking like something out of a sci-fi movie onto Welsh beaches. On Sunday, a blue barrel covered in what looked like gleaming white shells was spotted on a beach in Pembrokeshire. Upon closer inspection, the barrel was found to be encrusted in long pink worm-like creatures growing out of delicate shells.
The alien-like creatures were in fact the rare gooseneck barnacles, said to be a delicacy in countries like Portugal and Spain where they can fetch more than £80 a kilo.
Last week a dog walker spotted the same creatures on a beach in Criccieth in north Wales. Holidaymaker Dave McGirr described them as "small octopuses, or squid" and added: "They have tiny tentacles that reach out from their shells. I’ve never tried eating them and, having now seen them, I’m not sure I’d want to try." His find was thought to be worth somewhere between £3,000 and £5,000.
The latest discovery on a beach not far from Tenby was by WalesOnline reporter Laura Clements. Having never seen anything like it in her life before, she thought at first the bizarre creatures must be dead. But when she prodded them they waved gently in the air before settling back down against the barrel.
The last thing she thought was whether they would taste good. But they are known as percebes on the continent where they are prized for tasting somewhere between lobster and clam, with a texture similar to octopus. Traditionally gathered from underwater rocks and crevices on Spain’s Costa da Morte, or Coast of Death, they are among the world’s most expensive seafoods. The price reflects the dangers involved in gathering them by Percebeiros – specialist gooseneck barnacle fishermen who risk their lives diving beneath crashing waves.
Further along the beach, Laura found more of the rare barnacles attached to a piece of driftwood. These were a lot smaller with shells about the size of a little fingernail. It's not the first time walkers have spotted these creatures in Wales - last year Martyn Green came across thousands of shells attached to a large piece of driftwood while visiting a north Wales beach.
Other weird wildlife to wash up on Welsh beaches after stormy conditions include weird slug-like shelled creatures on Cefn Sidan after Storm Dennis and odd-looking sea-cucumbers on Llangennith beach earlier this year.
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