How old can a herring get? Where are all eels born? During this year's Västerhavsvecka in Lysekil, Rebecca Eliasson, Alexander Jansson, and Elias Neuman from SLU Aqua and the Institute of Marine Research met hundreds of curious visitors. Through conversations and hands-on activities, they sparked interest in life in the Skagerrak and Kattegat seas and highlighted SLU Aqua's research and environmental monitoring work.
– We met a large number of curious visitors, which was great fun, says Elias Neuman.
The main focus for the team from the Institute of Marine Research was to inform the public about SLU Aqua's activities.
– Many people actually don't know who we are or that we are based here in Lysekil. So we took the opportunity to tell them more about our work, including our fish surveys and environmental monitoring. We also highlighted the marine environment of Sweden's west coast and the diverse marine life found there. In addition, we presented the research project Lobserve, a citizen science project aimed at increasing knowledge about the European lobster along Sweden's west coast, says Elias Neuman.
Visitors also had the chance to test their knowledge in a marine quiz featuring questions such as: Where are all eels born? How old can a herring get? And how many species of rays are found in Sweden? They could also challenge themselves by trying the so-called "lobster grip" test.
– The lobster grip challenge was very popular. Visitors could compare their own grip strength with that of a lobster's crusher claw, which exerts a force of around 45 kilograms, says Alexander Jansson.
Overall, interest was high, and many visitors also took the opportunity to learn more about the bootlace worm, the world's longest animal, which can grow up to 50 metres long and lives in the Skagerrak and Kattegat seas.
– The day was a much-appreciated opportunity to share knowledge about marine life on Sweden's west coast and about SLU Aqua's research and environmental monitoring, concludes Rebecca Eliasson.
