by november 11th, 2021
by far unintentionally catching a moon jelly was highlight of my trip. it all happened when everyone was out on the deck to catch micro plastic samples with a net. the project was to catch micro plastics with a net and jar attached to it. after they threw it off board everyone waited till it was time to take it out and collect our samples. i volunteered to help out with the net. after they pulled it out i got to hold the net and jar up so the water could strain out. it looked like we caught a bunch of stuff because the little jar was full. we took the net apart from the jar and strained the remains of our samples out into a bucket. out of nowhere something just plops out-unclogging the net. it was a cute little moon jelly! we couldn’t really see it that well after it came out from the net into the bucket but after we finished the straining process, the jelly remained.
everyone who stuck around after we strained our samples got to hold the jelly and take pictures with it. it felt like jell-o or a water balloon. it was so pretty, the moon jelly was so clear you could see through it. i decided to name it jessie the jelly. may it rest in peace. jessie will forever be remembered.
stephanie lopez holding jessie the jelly
