Yesterday morning I went to Arnao beach, which is the physical separation between Asturias and Galicia along with the Eo estuary.

The morning was not hot and I didn't feel like going for a swim, but I did feel like walking along the sand and in particular towards a rocky area where I saw some bathers standing still as if they were trying to catch something.

When I saw them with knives I assumed that they were catching some of the species that are on the rocks and to tell the truth there are several shellfish that could be caught.

Oysters

The white incrustations you see on the rocks are oysters.

Some of them are very small and should not yet be caught.

Some of them are very small and should not be caught yet. And some of the other incrustations I have found already opened, even if they are small. This fact made me very angry because the sandbanks should not be exploited in this way.

Mussels

In many cracks in the rock I found mussels. All of them are small and do not deserve to be caught without letting them grow properly.

Limpets

This is an inexpensive seafood, which is not overfished and cooked with a good sauce is very tasty. But I had no intention of catching limpets, so I continued my way through the rocky area.

Sea snail

This type of sea snail is called bigaro in Asturias. It is a very tasty snail that is eaten a lot in the coastal area. However, this was the only vigaro I found and I decided to leave it alone.

Crabs

Lifting up some stones I set out to catch a crab.

Without much effort you can catch this small sized crab.

I took it to my cousin so that she would lose her fear of it.

At the same time, I explained to her how to look under the crab to see if it is a male or a female. In this case it was a female due to the rounded shape and the wider pleon of the abdomen.

After taking the relevant photographs, the crab was returned to the rocky area to continue its growth.

After releasing the crab, I continued my walk along the beach and took some photographs of the beautiful landscape.

Undoubtedly, estuarine beaches are fascinating places for their beauty, their diversity once you walk a little on the rocks, and they are an open classroom in which to teach a subject as simple as distinguishing between a female crab and a live male crab.

Best regards.

Español

Durante la mañana de ayer fui a la playa de Arnao que es la separación física entre Asturias y Galicia junto con la ría del Eo.

La mañana no era calurosa y no me apetecía darme un baño, pero sí me apetecía pasear por la arena y en concreto hacia una zona de rocas en la que veía detenidos a algunos bañistas como queriendo capturar algo.

Al verles provistos de cuchillos supuse que estaban capturando algunas de las especies que hay en las rocas y a decir verdad hay varios mariscos que se podrían capturar.

Ostras

Las incrustaciones blancas que veis en las rocas son Ostras.

Algunas de ellas son de muy pequeño tamaño y no deberían aún capturarse.

Y otras incrustaciones me las he encontrado ya abiertas, aun siendo su tamaño pequeño. Este hecho me dio muchas rabias porque no se debería explotar de esa manera los arenales.

Mejillones

En multitud de grietas de la roca me encontré con mejillones. Todos ellos de pequeño tamaño y que no merecen ser capturados sin dejarles crecer convenientemente.

Lapas

Este es un marisco economico, que no está sobreexplotado y que cocinadas con una buena salsa estan sabrosisimas. Pero no tenia la finalidad de capturar lapas por lo que continue mi camino por el pedrero.

Caracol de mar

Este tipo de caracol de mar, se llama en Asturias bígaro. Es un caracol muy sabroso que se come mucho en la zona de costa. Sin embargo, este fue el único bígaro que encontré y decidí dejarlo en paz.

Cangrejos

Levantando unas piedras me puse a capturar un cangrejo.

Sin mucho esfuerzo puede pillar este cangrejo de pequeño tamaño.

Se lo llevé a mi prima para que le perdiera el miedo.

A su vez, le expliqué como mirar debajo del cangrejo para saber si es un macho o una hembra. Siendo en este caso una hembra debido a la forma redondeada y más ancha el pleon del abdomen.

Tras las fotografías pertinentes, el cangrejo lo devolvimos al pedrero para que siguiese su crecimiento.

A la vuelta de la liberación del cangrejo continué mi paseo por la playa y capturando alguna fotografía del hermoso paisaje.

Sin lugar a dudas, las playas cercanas a estuarios son unos lugares fascinantes por su belleza, su gran diversidad en cuanto uno camina un poco por las rocas y es una aula abierta en la que enseñar un tema tan sencillo como diferenciar entre un cangrejo hembra y un cangrejo macho en vivo.

Un saludo.

Cover, separators and banner created with www.canva.com (free version).

This post is my entry to Amazing Nature Contest organized by @hive-127788

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version).