[FIELDNOTE] Gunnel Fish

With all this beautiful weather we've been having on our little island, the kiddos and I have been making a point of getting out every day to explore our forests and coastline. We have found a few 'new' beaches to us and trails. 

This past long weekend, we were tipped off to some cool 'baby eels' that were hiding out under the rocks in Crippen Park. Chloe and I grabbed a bucket and headed out to see for ourself.

After turning over about three rocks with no success, we hit the jackpot! Post rock flip, the murky water started to swish and swash with little tails flipping around in a crazy dance - it totally took us by surprise! We quickly started scooping up the slippery little creatures that were causing all the fuss and discovered that they were beautiful Gunnel Fish.

Pretty much every other rock we turned over were swarming with these little guys. We found tiny ones and some pretty large ones in all different colours. They have beautiful markings down their backs and the cutest little faces. We even found a large, red toned Gunnel!

Once back home, we started googling the different species of Gunnel and learning more about these fascinating 'baby eels'.

The gunnel is a fish that looks a great deal like an eel, with a long thin body, and a dorsal fin that is about two times as long as his anal fin.

The Gunnel is about three to ten inches long, but can grow to be as much as 18 inches long. Gunnels are grey to green in color, but may have other markings or colors on their bodies./

The thin gunnel is very abundant in the cooler waters of the Pacific. They will hide in rocks or crevices between rocks, or even underneath them to stay clear of predators.

Gunnels are relatives of the Wolf fish, but they are much smaller and lack some of the characteristics of the wolf fish.

The gunnel can come in a variety of colors, depending on their type. THe Rock Gunnel is a warm brown while the saddleback gunnel is a darker color but has markings much like a saddle on its back and takes its shelter in among kelp plants for cover.

Gunnels have a very long and well spined dorsal fin that runs the entire length of the body and if they have pelvic fins they are very small. About eight types of gunnels are found in the northern most aspects of the Atlantic and Pacific ocean.The Gunnel is also called the Rock eel,referring to its looking much like an eel, or the butterfish, which refers to the slipperiness of the fish when you attempt to catch it.

Gunnels are egg layers, meaning that they do not bear live young. Their eggs are deposited and left, and the young are not cared for by the mother.