Delaware Center for the Inland Bays

Recently, Bayside Fenwick Island held it’s second annual ‘Links to the Bay 5k’, an excellent 5k event benefitting us here at the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays.

As the new Development Coordinator for the CIB, I was originally going to assist other coworkers and volunteers with a living shoreline display…

Then, one week before the event, I was asked to help with a ‘seining demonstration’ as well. Hesitantly, I said, “Sure…”

The first thing you need to know about this situation is that the last time I even observed a seining operation was a good number of years ago, while in college. From what I remembered, seining involved a net…and getting wet!

Since I was not really prepared for this endeavor (in particular I lacked the necessary footwear), my coworker and Policy Coordinator for the Center, Roy Miller, let me borrow a pair of ‘shrimper’ boots. After all, I would only be in the shallow water closest to shore.

We started our demonstration among the excited children and adults watching from the pier and shoreline. With one end of the seine net in hand, while Roy walked about 1- feet into the water dragging the net along the bottom of the muddy bay (essentially doing the hard work for me). Meanwhile, I stayed closer to shore, holding the other end of the net in place. With one simple sweep, we were dragging our catch on shore.

As we proceeded to transfer the bounty of living creatures into a wading pool for our audience to observe, I became increasingly more amazed at the quantity and variety of life that was squirming, flopping and skittering in the net. In such a small area we caught plenty: Blue crab, skilletfish, striped killifish, edible (probably brown) shrimp, and more!

This experience has given me a greater appreciation for the Inland Bays, the habitat it provides for so many different living creatures and the important work by the Center for the Inland Bays.

It was also great fun – for our audience as well as for me – Proof is in the pictures!