There are many types of barnacles and their prices vary.
Common barnacles have a hard shell on their body, which looks like a shell, but they are actually arthropods.
The most expensive barnacle is the gooseneck barnacle, which is a common species on the seashore. The reason why it is expensive is mainly because it is very difficult to collect.
The barnacles attached to whale sharks are usually cylindrical barnacles.
Cylindrical barnacles are also common on coastal reefs.
But the cylindrical barnacles on the seaside reefs are not as plump as those on whale sharks.
The body posture of the cylindrical barnacle is very peculiar. Usually its head is at the bottom, and the bottom of the body is facing outward, so that the head can be extended into the sea water.
Xiang Yang and several crew members swam to the whale shark.
The whale shark might have been a little irritable because of its injury. After seeing Xiang Yang and the crew approaching, it did not stay still on the water like the humpback whale, but sank its entire body into the ocean.
Xiang Yang swam over ahead of the crew and played with the whale shark for a while. The whale shark gradually relaxed its vigilance towards Xiang Yang and the others, and floated back to the surface of the water, gently swaying its fins and tail, keeping its entire body suspended on the sea.
Xiang Yang winked at the crew members, and a group of people hurriedly climbed towards the whale shark.
Whale sharks are larger than humpback whales and have more barnacles on their bodies.
In fact, both whales and humans hate barnacles.
Although barnacles are generally very expensive, many fishermen still hate these creatures.
Barnacles are also a "fouling organism" to humans.
The bottom of many fishermen's boats are covered with a large number of barnacles, which greatly increases the resistance to navigation, reduces the speed of the fishing boats, and causes the fishing boats to consume more fuel.
In fact, for fishing boats, barnacles are just a small matter. Apart from consuming a little more fuel, they are harmless.
For factories that pump seawater for cooling or offshore oil drilling plants, barnacles are a real nuisance and burden.
In my country's East China Sea alone, the cost of eliminating barnacles is as high as tens of billions of yuan each year.
However, in my country's South China Sea, barnacles make up for this consumption.
Southerners like to drink soup, and barnacles are an excellent ingredient for making soup.
The method of making barnacle soup is very simple. You only need to add some ginger and salt, then boil the water and put in the barnacles. It tastes really delicious, and the meat of the barnacles is also tender and delicious.
It is worth mentioning that Darwin, the author of "The Origin of Species", loved to eat barnacles and was an absolute barnacle lover. Before writing "The Origin of Species", Darwin had been focusing on the study of barnacles and even published a book about barnacles.
It's annoying, but also delicious and expensive, so the crew is very enthusiastic about collecting barnacles.
After climbing onto the whale shark, it started collecting the fish without Xiang Yang saying anything.
The whale shark probably knew what Xiang Yang and the others were doing. Perhaps it had been tormented enough by the barnacles, so it was particularly quiet when Xiang Yang and the others were collecting barnacles.
What surprised Xiang Yang was that there were a lot of barnacles on the whale shark's belly, which were connected together in large patches, looking hideous and terrifying.
However, the number of barnacles on its back is very small, only a few scattered ones.
This is related to the habits of whale sharks.
The whale shark's back skin is smooth, leaving no place for barnacles to hide.
Whale sharks love to float on the sea surface to bask in the sun, and many barnacles cannot withstand the scorching sun, so they die directly.
"Be gentle." Xiang Yang shouted to the crew members who were cleaning barnacles.
Although the whale shark is huge in size, it is an oviparous animal after all, and its IQ is not as high as that of the humpback whale. Xiang Yang was also afraid that the crew would move too violently and hurt the whale shark.
A whale shark that is nearly 20 meters long is no joke once it goes crazy. If you get hit by it, breaking a few bones is the least of your worries.
The crew members all nodded.
"Don't worry, Captain, we know the seriousness of the matter." Chen Qingsheng grinned.
The barnacles on these marine monsters are the fattest barnacles. Chen Qingsheng collected almost half of the net bag in just a short while. No wonder he was grinning.
Xiang Yang nodded. The crew members brought off the ship this time were all the more stable crew members on the ship. Even Fang Youqun was not brought off. Everyone knew their limits in their hearts. Xiang Yang only needed to remind them with one sentence and there was no need to keep saying it.
Soon, bags of barnacles were sent back to the ship by the crew. The crew on the ship checked the quality of the barnacles and were excited. This whale shark should be older than the two humpback whales, and the barnacles on its body were fatter and more delicious than those collected from the two humpback whales at the beginning.
Xiang Yang swam to the bottom of the sea and took a few looks, then shook his head. The barnacles on the whale shark were indeed fatter than those on the humpback whale, but the number was much smaller. Basically, there was only the barnacle on the abdomen, which weighed more than 100 kilograms in total. Among the ocean giants, this was definitely considered relatively clean.
"These barnacles should be able to sell for more than a thousand yuan per pound, right?" Wu Shiwen looked at Xiang Yang with envy.
Xiang Yang nodded, "This is a very rare top-grade food. Although it is not as exaggerated as the gooseneck barnacles, it is much more expensive than the barnacles under the bottom of the ship."
Gooseneck barnacles are known as a delicacy from hell. Those of slightly better quality can be sold for thousands of yuan per pound.
"Shall we get half a pound of it and make a pot of soup?" Wu Shiwen asked tentatively.
"Half a pound is not enough. I'll take out ten pounds and cook a big pot later." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
This was a pleasant surprise, so Xiang Yang was not stingy and took it out, cooked a pot, and let everyone try the flavor.
Of course, with more than a hundred people on the two ships, ten kilograms of barnacles could only be used to taste them.
"Captain, I think after we finish collecting barnacles, we must go to the Pioneer Beach. The various seafood on the ship are difficult to classify and are not easy to keep alive." Chen Qingsheng said at this time.
Xiang Yang nodded, he knew that Chen Qingsheng was telling the truth.
At this time, there were indeed a lot of rare aquatic products on the ship. If a batch of them died, the loss would be really huge.
Moreover, we will be staying on the ship for a long time, so it is time to take the crew to land for some rest.
Apart from anything else, the food supply on Xiang Yang's ship was actually excellent. After all, the crew would eat whatever Xiang Yang ate, and Xiang Yang himself was a foodie.
Mainly things like vegetables. There were none at the beginning, and they have been in limited supply in the past few days. After going ashore this time, we must clear out a special freezer to replenish large quantities of vegetables and fruits.
In fact, these should have been prepared before departure.