A fine day for fishing!

There were a lot of fishermen busy on our beach today.

Great Blue Heron

Brown Pelican

Then a boat threw a net in a circle and hauled it onto the beach.  I spotted it when it was already beached.

They were sorting out the fish they wanted to keep and throwing the others back into the ocean.  They were doing this as quickly as they could and I was amazed at how they managed to throw back the rays and pufferfish without getting a sting.

Toss those fish and rays back.

I believe this is a Stingray and not a Skate.

Most of the fish made it back into the ocean.

Pufferfish

Pufferfish can puff up when threatened by swallowing huge amounts of water or air.   This species has spines as well.  Almost all pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin.  They taste foul and can be poisonous to fish.   To humans, if eaten, this poison is up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide. One puffer can contain enough to kill 30 adults and there is no known antidote.

I believe the spotted ones are a species of Eagle ray.

The fish that are kept are destined for the local markets and restaurants in the area.  

The kept fish were mostly Crevalle Jacks and Mullets.

Big Crevalle Jack

 Rinsing the sand off.

Hauling that big Jack by hand.