Rare Fish Found at Sanna

Beachcombing is always fun after a gale or two - one never knows what one will find - and Sanna beach must be on of the best places to enjoy this pastime, even if it's in sleety rain driven along by a stiff southeaster. Today's walk started well, with the first discovery on the grass just at the back of the beach, near the mouth of the Sanna Burn.

It didn't take long to identify this fish, even though it's not on the normal list of British sea fish, as The Diary has seen the species in rather warmer waters. It's a trigger fish, probably the grey trigger fish, Balistes capriscus. If the identification is correct, it's a long way from home. The species is normally found along the western coast of Africa, from the Mediterranean southwards, and along the eastern seaboard of the Americas, from Nova Scotia to Argentina. There are, however, reports of the fish both alive and dead in British waters - read here for a note about a dead specimen being washed up on Lewis in 2000, and here for more details. Quite why it was on the grass remains a mystery, though it was probably put there by a passer-by.

Our local fishermen should watch out for live specimens as it has a reputation for attacking people, the bite being very painful. It's also very good to eat.

We've found sea potatoes at Sanna before, usually at low tide on the sand in the bay, but a number of unusually large specimens were scattered along the upper beach, probably dug out of their burrows by the storm waves. The sea potato, Echinocardium cordatum, is a type of sea urchin. When it's alive it's covered with what looks like hair but is actually fine spines. The specimen on the left is about as large as they come, at about 9cm. More about sea potatoes here.

Meanwhile, on land the search for breaks along the power lines continues. A Scottish and Southern helicopter was working along the flanks of Meall Sanna as we walked back to the car, the machine passing over the village before heading off towards Achnaha, where electricity was finally restored about 6.00pm yesterday evening.