If you’ve ever come across a strange fleshy blob washed up on the beach chances are you encountered sea pork. Despite its meaty appearance, sea pork is not actually pork at all. It’s the common name for a few species of primitive marine invertebrates called tunicates. Their blob-like bodies and coloration can make them look like raw meat.
So what do you do if you find one of these oddities and want to take it home? Can you keep a sea pork as a pet or display specimen? Let’s take a closer look at what sea pork is and how to care for it if you want to hold onto your beach find
What is Sea Pork?
Sea pork refers to a few species of tunicates, including Aplidium californicum, Aplidium solidum and Aplidium stellatum Tunicates are sac-like marine animals that live attached to rocks, docks and other hard surfaces in shallow coastal waters
Their unique skin, called a tunic, is what gives them their name. It is made of cellulose, proteins, and other things. This gives them a tougher, rubbery texture. Inside the tunic are the zooids, which are tiny living things that live together as a colony. Each zooid pumps water through its body to filter out food.
Sea pork can range in color from pink to purple to grayish-white. When they wash up on beaches after storms, they look like pieces of fatback because of how swollen and colored they are. But they are completely harmless marine creatures.
Is Sea Pork Edible?
While sea pork may look like its namesake, it is not meant for eating. Some tunicate species are consumed in Korea and Japan, but only when very fresh. Beach-found sea pork is not suitable for eating.
Not only do they lack much flavor, but decaying sea pork can harbor dangerous bacteria, viruses and toxins. Like with any dead sea life, it’s best not to consume them if you don’t know how long they’ve been deceased.
So feel free to collect your sea pork, but don’t plan on cooking it up. Simply admire its strange appearance and learn about this fascinating form of ocean life.
Keeping Sea Pork as a Pet or Display
Many beachcombers like to take their sea pork home. Especially when found in large colonies, the blob-like, alien appearance makes for an intriguing conversation piece to show family and friends. Kids in particular find them fascinating.
The good news is that sea pork requires minimal care to keep around for a short time. Here are some tips:
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Rinse gently in seawater to remove debris. Avoid fresh water, which is harmful to them.
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Place in a shallow dish or jar of seawater. Aerated seawater is best to oxygenate them.
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Keep in a cool, shaded spot out of direct light. A temperature of 60-70 ̊F is ideal.
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Change the seawater daily by scooping out and replacing about a quarter of it. Use dechlorinated water if natural seawater is unavailable.
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Do not feed them, as they are filter feeders that extract nutrients from the water.
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Watch for signs of decay like severe slime, unpleasant odor, or mushy texture. Discard if they begin decomposing.
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Take photos if possible, then return your sea pork to the ocean after a few days. These are colonial organisms that do best in their natural habitat.
Unfortunately, sea pork does not live very long in captivity – usually just a few days at most before decomposition starts. So it’s best to observe them briefly and return them to the sea.
Common Questions About Sea Pork
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about these strange sea creatures:
Are sea pork dangerous or toxic?
No, sea pork is completely harmless to humans. They contain no toxins or venom. It is safe to collect them from beaches as long as normal caution is used around dead sea life.
Why do they look like raw meat?
Their swollen, lumpy shape and pinkish-red hues simply resemble raw pork or fatback. This is coincidental based on the tunicate species’ natural appearance.
Do they feel gross or slimy to touch?
Decaying sea pork can feel quite slimy or mushy. However, freshly washed-up specimens feel rubbery and firm like a pencil eraser. Gently poking reveals their resilient texture.
Are sea pork and sea pansies related?
Yes, both are types of tunicates. Sea pansies resemble flower petals in shape and purple color. They sometimes wash ashore in sea pork colonies, but are separate species.
Where do sea pork colonies form?
Sea pork adheres to shallow surfaces like dock pilings, boats, buoys and rocky outcrops. Currents and storms detach whole colonies that then wash onto beaches.
Why do they wash ashore more in winter?
Strong winter storms and winds are especially likely to dislodge entire colonies and deposit them on beaches. Pea-sized sea pork babies also reproduce more in colder months.
The Unique World of Sea Pork
For those who love curiosities of the sea, stumbling upon the alien landscape of a sea pork colony is a fascinating experience. These primitive filter feeders have been around for eons, playing their role in coastal ecosystems. While they may not make good house guests, taking a few photos and observing their strange beauty opens up the remarkable diversity of ocean life. Just be sure to quickly return them home to the sea where they belong.
Sea pork is typically made up of hundreds and at times, millions of tiny zooids.
To create new colonies, these zooids, as larvae, can be free swimming creatures. They gather together and attach themselves to hard substrates.
Then they begin to metamorphose into sedentary creatures. They lose their tails and mobility, while their nervous system essentially disintegrates. These creatures then secrete digested cellulose that they acquire from filtering the sea water. This creates the outer covering of what will be the colonial sea pork.
Upon examining sea pork on the beach, you may notice tiny holes that are similar to human pores. Each of these pores houses its own zooid. The zooids have incurrent siphons that allow seawater in. The water is then filtered and passed through the ex-current siphon, once nutrients are taken from it. When you find sea pork washed up on the beaches, the entire colony has died. The zooids will then fall out of the larger cellulose body.
Solving a mystery about a common sight on local beaches.
Have you ever found something strange on the beaches of Hilton Head Island? What looks like meat or organs washed up on the shore is actually Sea Pork, an animal that lives in the ocean. This marine filter feeder is common in our waters and on local beaches. Its common name comes from the fact that it looks like salted pork and fatback.
Aplidium stellatum, or Sea Pork, is a colonial tunicate. Tunicates are filter feeding organisms with a sack-like body structure. Tunicates can be either singular or colonial organisms. Other types of tunicates that can be found in South Carolina waters include sea squirts and sea grapes. These immobile creatures attach to hard substrates such as docks, pilings, boat bottoms, groins and jetties.