At three o'clock in the morning, Feng Ye got up on time.
I opened the door and took a look. Thankfully, Ah-Can's bad luck didn't come true this time.
The moon was bright and the stars were few; there was no wind and no rain.
After washing up, he went to the dock to prepare for going out to sea.
Tonight, people didn't go out as early as yesterday; most were just starting to go out or preparing to go out.
Many fishing lights floated on the sea, and the dock was bustling with people and twinkling lights.
Some people continued to push branches over on carts and load them onto the boat, perhaps because, like them, they hadn't deployed enough egg-laying devices and needed to add more.
However, Feng Ye and his group did not bring the embryo implantation device with them today.
Although the family had already done it for them yesterday, it was already connected and needed to be redone.
They were too busy cleaning the fish at night to have any time to do it, so they had to wait until the daytime to finish.
Ah Chan is already waiting on the boat.
The mooring ropes were untied, and the Rising Sun set off with them on board.
Today they don't plan to use trawling nets; instead, they plan to check the beaches of the two islands for squid to collect.
Yesterday I wasn't familiar with the area and didn't know where the best place to land on the island was.
If the ship were to dock prematurely, there is a risk of running aground or even hitting a reef.
Otherwise, they would have gone to the island to check after deploying the egg-laying device yesterday.
Island No. 1 was closer, so they chose it first.
It was pitch black at night, and even with a headlamp, it was impossible to see clearly on the beach from the boat.
As the boat slowly approached and came to a stop, Feng Ye and A Can carefully jumped off the boat, waded ashore in the shallow water, and were greatly disappointed.
There were very few squid on the beach, only a few here and there.
In the shallow waters, there aren't many things that are washed back and forth by the waves.
Most of them were probably eaten by seabirds.
Moreover, at this very moment, there are still many seabirds foraging for food.
Not all seabirds are diurnal; some are nocturnal.
The most typical example is the black-crowned night heron, which prefers to be active at dawn, dusk, and night, hiding in secluded spots in dense forests during the day.
Seagulls, spotted pelicans, and white-fronted shelducks also come out to forage at night.
They often don't distinguish between day and night.
"Forget it, let's not pick them up anymore. Let's leave them for the seabirds to eat. Let's go trawling."
"Hmm, there aren't many, it's fine whether you pick them up or not."
Ah-chan nodded, then asked, "Don't we want to go check out the other island?"
"I'm not going. I guess the situation will be similar, and it'll be a waste of time."
As Feng Ye spoke, he waded through the water toward the boat.
Ah-Can thought about it and agreed that it made sense. He picked up a squid from the side of his feet and quickly followed.
The Rising Sun restarted, left Island One, and headed east.
Having already asserted sovereignty yesterday, there is no need to continue trawling around the two islands today.
We can work in a more remote area where the resources are better, and then return around noon.
Many others shared the same idea, and numerous fishing lights flickered on the sea, all heading towards more distant waters.
About an hour later, the Rising Sun slowed down.
Feng Ye knew it was time to log off.
The trawl net is ready and waiting to be lowered into the tail slide.
He had just walked over and bent down to haul in the fishing net when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something jumping from the sea onto the boat.
"Holy shit..."
He instinctively dodged to the side, avoiding the unknown object.
"What the hell is that?"
He looked back at the thing that had jumped onto the boat and landed on the deck, and was immediately startled, his face turning pale.
"Holy crap, it's a needlefish?!"
He instantly realized the danger and turned to run.
But before we'd gone more than a few steps, we saw needlefish jumping onto the boat, not just from the stern, but also from both sides.
These needlefish that jumped up varied in size, with the larger ones measuring forty or fifty centimeters and the smaller ones only twenty centimeters.
Without exception, they all seemed to be driven by something, jumping onto the ship in a panic, slamming their hands on the deck with loud bangs.
Feng Ye knew, however, that they were not being driven away, but rather attracted by the lights on the ship.
There is a light on the roof of the cabin of the Rising Sun, which is often on at night. It is not for lighting, but for warning purposes.
Needlefish, on the other hand, exhibit a very strong phototaxis.
"Oh my god..."
He intended to hide in the wheelhouse or inside the cabin.
However, it was clearly too late.
Helpless, he could only scramble to the side of the boat and crouch down to hide under the edge for the time being.
Damn it, how did I run into this monster?
Needlefish are quite dangerous; getting pricked can be fatal or seriously injured, and quite a few people have died from them. Li Shizhen said, "This fish has a needle in its chin, hence its various names."
Needlefish are scaleless, smooth and slender, long and cylindrical in shape, slightly laterally compressed, and range in length from 20 to 45 centimeters.
However, some can grow very large, reaching a length of over one meter.
Its most distinctive feature is its sharp, three-inch-long beak, which is quite hard, like a steel needle, and can easily pierce the human body.
This is also their key weapon for hunting.
Needlefish are also extremely good jumpers, capable of leaping out of the water at speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour.
When needlefish attempt to attack their prey without jumping, their attack range is only about 50 centimeters.
With the help of jumping, the attack range extends to about 2 meters, making it more difficult for the prey to escape.
Their jumping behavior is influenced by a variety of factors, such as light, food, being startled, and avoiding predators.
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