The good, the bad and the edible….Newsletter 15
Dato 17.11.2006
Snakes gotta swim, fish gotta fly, we gotta keep searching low and high - For the good bacteria…. We are on our way to Perth, on our own showboat VÆDDEREN due to arrive in the port of Fremantle on Monday at 08.00 hrs local time.
14 snakes in the net and five flying fish in the pan
This week has seen more of the merits of sea snake catchers Arne Redsted Rasmussen and Anders Hay-Schmidt. The researchers managed to catch a total of 14 reptiles, amongst them an impressive snake measuring 1.85 m in length. Three of the snakes belong to such a rare species that very few specimens had been found globally, until our researchers’ catch. Politiken’s reporters capture the snake hunt – see their video here (text in Danish)
Besides snakes in the net, the researchers’ caught supper when five flying fish jumped into their dinghy on Thursday. The fish were sent to the galley where they ended up in a frying pan.
Foto: Anne Sofie Berendt
Arne Redsted Rasmussen taking a photo of a sea snake
Stars of the oceans
Lone Gram of the Danish Institute for Fisheries Research is leading a project entitled ‘Roseobacter bacteria – the ocean’s stars’. Her aim is to reveal new types of bacteria for use in industrial or pharmaceutical applications, thanks to an ability to kill other bacteria. A good candidate is the bacterial florae which live on surfaces such as the scales of sea snakes: these are of special interest to the scientists. As always, researchers would undertake long and thorough investigations before being able to say whether the sea snake bacteria could be of commercial value. They are currently examining the bacteria in Petri dishes for any inhibitory or lethal behaviour: this is the first in a long series of experiments. The researchers hope for early signs of potential applications. More on the beneficial bacteria at Politikens Galathea-3 webpage.
A heatwave - roast duck – a cool dunking
It is 35 degrees, baking hot. The air conditioning system cannot cope. It’s hot on board VÆDDEREN. We celebrated St Martin’s Day all the same, with roast duck, potatoes and gravy. We are lucky to have a remedy for the heat: a bathing pool which the crew have rigged up on deck. And which has rapidly become one of the most popular of the ship’s areas...
Foto: Anne Sofie Berendt
Taking a svim...
Next stop: Perth
After several days taking water samples in an area west of Broome, VÆDDEREN set off on her journey southwards. Several researchers will leave the ship in Fremantle and are therefore already making ready to disembark.
Foto: Anne Sofie Berendt
Researchers packing gear
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