A walker made an unexpected discovery during a trip to the beach in Blackpool.
Chevaun Hands snapped a picture of the strange ‘roll’ of seaweed and shells over the weekend and took to Facebook to ask for help in identifying the find. Several people replied to confirm the shells were in fact gooseneck barnacles.
The rare species of barnacle are a delicacy in countries such as Portugal and Spain but have been known to wash up on UK shores after storms. In 2022 a similar-sized roll of barnacles washed up on a beach in Gwynedd which was said to be worth £4,000.
According to the Wildlife Trusts, barnacles are a type of crustacean, related to crabs and lobsters. Goose barnacles filter feed on plankton and detritus, capturing it from the water with their specially adapted legs.
The creatures can be bought fresh online for around £80-£90 per kilo – or cheaper if frozen.
How to identify gooseneck barnacles
Goose barnacles are unmistakeable. They grow in dense aggregations on flotsam, with delicate chalky white shells anchored to the object with a fleshy black stalk (or peduncle). A similar species, the buoy barnacle (lepas fascicularis) floats attached to a spongy ‘buoy’ that it makes itself rather than attached to an object. The buoy barnacle is palish purple in colour.
Distribution
Goose barnacles are often washed up on west and south-west coasts of the UK, especially after storms.
Strange fact
It was once thought that barnacle geese hatched from goose barnacles. When two barnacle geese turned up in Scotland, people wondered where they had come from. No one had ever seen a barnacle goose nest or egg before. Then, when someone realised that the goose barnacle shell resembled the barnacle goose’s head, they decided that the geese must grow attached to ships and then emerge as feathered birds.
Subscribe to our new weekly newsletter THE COURT FILES and get all the biggest stories from Lancashire’s courts direct to your inbox