Buoy barnacles may be indistinguishable from other shellfish to most of us, but for marine biologist Charles Griffiths their appearance in Western Cape waters is a “once in a lifetime” event.
Griffiths, who is the director of marine biology research at UCT, has spent 30 years studying and teaching marine biology in Cape Town. Up until now, he has never seen a buoy barnacle. Now, thousands of the barnacles have appeared in locations including Hout Bay, Muizenberg, Hermanus, False Bay, and Camps Bay.
“This bloom of buoy barnacles is just massive,” Griffiths said. The buoy barnacle is the only species of barnacle with the ability to float on its own. Mature barnacles secrete their own gas-filled flotation devices instead of attaching to flotsam. Griffiths said: “The immature barnacles cling to the flotation ball on a mature barnacle like ornaments on a Christmas tree. They are a very interesting species.”
Ken Moore, a specialist marine guide from Hermanus, said the barnacles were very visible: “Many people have been struck by them on our whale-watching tours. “I have worked in Walker Bay every day for 11 years and this is the first time I’ve seen these floating.”Griffiths said the influx might just be random: “It’s difficult to be conclusive about a one-off event like this.”