This week, I spent some time learning what it’s like to be a shellfisher. I spent about 2 hours shucking the meat out of scallop shells. I then had to clean and dry the shells for lab testing, only to be advised after completing my Herculean task that I would further have to clean the shells (as well as all the other samples I collect) again at the lab. Apparently this was a preliminary cleaning. Through my labor I learned something of great interest. I found a total of three small crabs inside the scallops. At first this scared me, until I realized that these crabs were dead and their pincers weren’t large enough to inflict any damage. Thanks, evolution! Anyway, I now feel the need to investigate the possible symbiosis between scallops and crabs, if one exists. Maybe these crabs had crawled into the shells after they had been dredged. The possibilities are endless!