A rare piece of wood covered in goose barnacles (also known as “devil’s fingers”) worth thousands of USD has drifted ashore on the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage site along the English Channel in southern England.
A piece of wood covered in goose barnacles washed up on the Jurassic Coast. (Photo: Telegraph).
John Jennings, an amateur photographer, stumbled upon a piece of wood measuring over 1.2 meters long and covered in goose barnacles while strolling along the beach at Boscombe in Bournemouth, Dorset, UK, as reported by Telegraph on January 10.
Goose barnacles – also known by various names including goose barnacle, and duck barnacle – are considered one of the rarest and most valuable seafoods in the world due to the unique environmental conditions necessary for their habitat and growth.
They are a key ingredient in gourmet dishes in Spain and Portugal.
In 2021, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay visited Portugal to collect and prepare goose barnacles for his series titled Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, which aired on National Geographic.
Goose barnacles have long bodies that resemble a neck, covered with a layer of chalky white shell. (Photo: Telegraph).
Known for their sweet flavor, goose barnacles can fetch prices close to 100 USD per kilogram.
It is extremely rare for a piece of wood from the Mediterranean to drift north to the UK.
However, Jennings was fortunate enough to encounter this rarity.
“I was cycling out in the morning and the weather was terrible, so it was really quiet around,” he recalled.
“At first, I thought the object was a stranded animal, but as I got closer, I realized it wasn’t. It looked like an alien creature with little legs sticking out from the shell.”
“The beach was deserted, so I spent a lot of time photographing this creature,” the photographer added.
Goose barnacles can fetch prices close to 100 USD per kilogram. (Photo: Telegraph).
Jennings mentioned that it was only when he got home and did further research that he realized how rare the creature he had encountered truly was.
“I went back with a more suitable camera and took some more photos with the pier in the background,” Jennings said.
“It was a surreal experience being on the quiet beach with such strange creatures.”
Goose barnacles have long bodies that resemble a neck, covered with a layer of chalky white shell, which houses the main body of the creature.
They are related to crabs and lobsters, feeding on plankton and debris in the water.
