During a recent swim, I saw a small tangle of lines floating in the water. While I’m not a fan of debris ending up in the ocean, I know these kinds of thing can have a positive side, so I headed over to check it out.
While I liked the color and reflections of the scene, what I was looking for was whether this floating raft sheltered anything. I had to look closely, but saw a few tiny fish hiding in the lines. As I approached from one side, they disappeared to the other. We played this game for a while and I was able to get a few photos.
I don’t know what the fish were, but they were likely juveniles of one of the pelagic species. They were very small, a half to three quarters of an inch long. The clump of line itself was only 6 to 9 inches across. But such environments provide valuable shelter for a variety of tiny creatures. It was only when I looked at the photos that I noticed another one, the small orange crab on one of the lines.
Graham's Island 
The lines are quite colourful, so I’m glad you went closer to spy the little fish.
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I generally check out anything floating like this. No telling what might live there.
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So cool, Graham yet so damaging for the environment. I am glad you found a positive to this sea litter.
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In a perfect world these fish would shelter in clumps of floating seaweed or other natural debris.
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It is sad that man-made debris has substituted for natural sea flora.
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Well the natural debris is still out there, but I suspect little fish will take whatever cover is on offer!
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As much I dislike the stuff in the sea, it does have a bit of life
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On a small scale it can be a plus. The bigger the clump, the more likely it is to do harm.
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Big clumps tag onto whales
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They do. Even a clump this size can be problematic for a small turtle or a medium-size fish.
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Bigger creatures can get tangled up in it though, Graham? xx
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This clump was no more than nine inches across so not likely to be a problem. It’s lost fishing nets and long lines that can tangle bigger creatures.
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It looked pretty. I was thinking of some footage I saw of some entangled seals that needed cutting free.
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