Sea angel (Clione limacina) observed during mid December near Stika, Alaska.
Observation: I went out to Nahku Bay [~3 miles NNW of Skagway, AK] at 12:45pm to collect samples for another project and noticed tons of sea angels in the water. It was mostly cloudy and windy with some recent rainfall. Water temperature was 3°C (37°F). There was so many it was hard to avoid getting them in my plankton net! I've never seen these before in this area.
LEO says: The UAF Sea Grant Alaska - Marine Advisory Program (MAP) agent in Ketchikan has been notified of the observation.
Resource:
Wikipedia – Clione limacina, known as the naked sea butterfly, sea angel, and common clione, is a sea angel (pelagic sea slug) found from the surface to greater than 500 m (1,600 ft) depth. It lives in the Arctic Ocean and cold regions of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans.
Image taken December 20th, 2016 (Photo courtesy of Nicole Kovacs)
Image taken December 20th, 2016 (Photo courtesy of Nicole Kovacs)
Image taken December 20th, 2016 (Photo courtesy of Nicole Kovacs)
