Bizarre creatures are always an exciting sight at any beach. Unfortunately, most turn out to be dead, stinking whales worth less than a penny. But, one lucky couple was in for a huge surprise after they discovered an animal worth tens of thousands of dollars.
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Martyn Green and his family, were out for a stroll one day when they discovered something akin to a massive piece of driftwood. Upon closer inspection, the family discovered that the log was covered in thousands of strange tentacled creatures with shells which Martyn said were unlike anything he had ever seen before. He told the Liverpool Echo:
My wife Gemma, she found it. We were walking on the beach and she called us and said 'come back, look at this'. We went and had a look and it looked like something not of this world. It was quite and attraction for the locals.
The New Brighton based family came across their discovery while on holiday in North Wales and after a quick Google search Martyn Green's son uncovered the identity of the Medusa-like beasts.
It turns out that the tentacled beings were actually called 'Gooseneck Barnacles' and are one of the most expensive sea creatures on the market.
The rare specimen is considered to be a delicacy in Portugal and Spain where they are known by the name percebes. Green found from a quick google search that each barnacle has a going rate of £25 and during peak times prices have reached up to £325 for a kg. He stated:
It turns out they are one of the most expensive sea creatures you can buy. From looking on Google I think it's about £25 each they go for, and on the log, there were probably about 2,000 of them.
Martyn has chosen to keep the location of the beach under wraps to prevent poachers from hijacking the creatures. And, it turns out Martyn's concerns are nothing but valid as there have been reports of the past of people risking their lives to harvest the specimens and even encountering illegal, violent groups in the process.
