Generally speaking, large marine creatures will have barnacles parasitizing them to some extent.
Especially those that swim relatively slowly, such as whales and sea turtles.
Whale sharks are also among the slowest-swimming marine creatures.
Its swimming speed is only about 5 kilometers per hour, which is comparable to the normal walking speed of humans.
Moreover, they often float on the water's surface to bask in the sun.
However, whale sharks do not have any barnacles on their bodies.
The reason for this is that whale sharks have skin that is very different from that of whales.
Its skin has a layer of very fine scales, which is what people commonly call shark skin.
When barnacles are searching for a place to parasitize, they first secrete some adhesive substance as a test.
If it doesn't fit, it will leave; if it does fit, it will continue to secrete adhesive until they are completely bonded together.
However, the unique structure of whale shark skin prevents barnacles from parasitizing it.
"Brother Ye, let's forget about it. Haven't you already caught a few?"
Seeing that Feng Ye was in a difficult position, Ah Can couldn't help but speak up to offer some advice.
"Let me take another look."
Feng Ye circled the whale shark again, looking for a place he could climb onto.
Surprisingly, it was discovered that we could try going up from the tail.
The whale shark's tail is mostly submerged in the water, and it can even grab onto the tail fin for leverage.
He took a deep breath and decided to give it a try, reaching out to grab the tail fin.
It's unclear whether the whale shark sensed Feng Ye's actions or was cooperating with them.
In short, it did not show any discomfort, and did not even wag its tail.
Feng Ye grabbed the tail fin and slowly climbed onto the whale shark's tail.
Perhaps because its tail is constantly swishing around, there are no remoras clinging to it.
He straightened up and carefully walked towards the whale shark's belly.
Ah-chan on the boat watched nervously, fearing that the whale shark might suddenly turn over, which would be disastrous.
With each step Feng Ye took, the whale shark remained motionless, merely bobbing gently with the waves.
Whale sharks' skin is not smooth; it is actually quite rough due to the presence of tiny scales.
This allowed Feng Ye to walk more steadily without worrying about slipping.
The belly of a whale shark is a different color from its back; it is pure white and has no spots or stripes.
There were many remoras clinging to it with their suckers, and at a glance, there were no fewer than twenty of them randomly distributed.
Feng Ye quickly reached a remora, and, following the same method, caught it in the net, ending its "free trip."
Then came the second, the third...
As he was catching them, some remoras, whether sensing danger or simply because they had been out of the water for too long, detached themselves and hopped back into the sea.
Therefore, he did not take all the remoras, but only caught twelve.
That's pretty good. Adding the previous four, there are a total of sixteen.
The larger ones are over 40 centimeters long, while the smaller ones are only a little over 10 centimeters long.
Going down was much easier; Feng Ye simply leaped into the sea.
Then he swam to the side of the boat and climbed aboard using both his hands and feet.
The whale shark seemed quite pleased. It rolled over, vigorously slapped the surface of the water with its pectoral fins, swam around the Rising Sun, and then slowly submerged.
"This thing isn't worth anything, why bother catching it?"
Although Ah-Can didn't know what Feng Ye wanted to do with the remora, he still prepared a bucket of seawater and waited.
Feng Ye first scooped the remoras out of the net and put them into the bucket.
Then he grabbed the last one and said to Ah-Can, "Roll up your sleeves."
"what?"
Ah-Can looked suspicious, but still rolled up his sleeves to his arms.
Feng Ye smiled slightly, gently placed the remora in his hand on A-Can's arm, and then reached out.
Without a second thought, the remora immediately clung tightly to Ah-Can's arm.
"The remora is a fish that loves to hitchhike. It has a sucker on its head that allows it to attach tightly to larger fish."
"I know, it was just attached to the whale shark. I just want to know what you're going to do with it?"
"Hehe, you can use it for fishing."
"fishing?"
"Yes, make a hole in it, thread a rope through it and tie it securely, then throw it back into the sea, and it will actively seek out big fish to attach itself to."
Upon hearing this, Ah-Can suddenly realized what was going on and asked, looking at the remora on his arm, "How strong is the suction of this thing? How heavy a fish can it catch?"
"Don't be fooled by how small this thing's suction cups seem; the weight it can hold is astonishing, reportedly up to 340 times its own body weight."
"So heavy?"
“That’s right, it’s a natural fishing hook, and it can move freely underwater to find prey.”
Ah-Can looked at the remora clinging to his arm, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes.
But the next moment, his expression changed: "What about this one? This thing has such a strong suction, how can we get it off?"
"Don't worry, it's very simple."
Feng Ye reached out and gently pinched the edge of the remora's sucker. With a slight pull, he easily removed it from A-Can's arm.
"This... didn't you say its suction power was very strong? This isn't that great!"
Ah Can looked at Feng Ye with a puzzled expression.
"Haha, its suction is indeed very strong, but that's only for relatively flat and smooth surfaces. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare put it on your arm."
As Feng Ye spoke, he tossed the remora onto the deck again. After it caught its grip, he said, "Try to see if you can pull it off."
With a hint of disbelief, Ah-Can reached out, grabbed its tail, and pulled hard.
Surprisingly, the remora remained completely still, as if it had been firmly welded to the deck.
"Wow, she's sucking so tightly!"
Ah-Can exclaimed in surprise, and was about to use his other hand as well, but Feng Ye stopped him.
"Okay, stop pulling so hard, or you'll kill me."
"How can we take it off?"
"Use this." Feng Ye handed over a screwdriver. "You can pry off its suction cups."
Ah-chan no longer had any doubts.
He saw exactly how Feng Ye caught those remoras.
He tried it and easily removed the remora.
"That sounds fun! Shall we try it now?"
Feng Ye shook his head: "No, let's keep going to the internet cafe. If you really want to play, bring it out yourself tomorrow. But don't let me ruin it all."
“That works too.” Ah-Can nodded. “I’m going to set sail.”
"Um."
Feng Ye responded and turned to look at the calm sea around him.
I wonder where that whale shark went?
With such a large size, it's likely to run aground in such shallow waters.
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