MARION — “Holy minnows” yelled  Henry Bishop as he frantically grabbed the small flopping fish from his net to place in a bucket during the Marion Natural History Museum’s coastal exploration on Friday, Aug 11.

As two young beachcombers navigated a seine net through the waves, a small crowd of excited beach goers gathered on the shore. 

Once on shore, the seine net was filled with flopping fish, participants then quickly placed their catches in a bucket of water.

“No way, it’s a puffer fish,” said Philip Lucci in excitement. “There is a baby one too,” said Rosie Palomo.

As Lucci placed the puffer fish in the bucket, it slowly deflated. 

“I guess he isn't scared anymore,” he said.

In addition to the two puffers and the dozens of minnows caught by the group, they also discovered fiddler crabs and oysters during their exploration of salt marshes between Sprague’s Pond and Silvershell beach.

 During their exploration, the group learned about the local estuarine ecosystem.

According to Marion Natural History Museum Director Elizabeth Leidhold, estuaries are bodies of water found where the river meets the sea.

Leidhold explained that stormwater from the drain on Front Street travels through the surrounding marshes and ponds to be cleaned before it is released out into the ocean.  

According to Leidhold, the fresh and saltwater ecosystems explored by the group are home to a number of different species. 

“Salt marshes in particular are known as the nursery of the sea, a lot of baby animals stay safe in there until they are big enough to fend off predators,” said Leidhold.

Palomo said that one her favorite parts of the exploration was seeing a family of fiddler crabs scurry through the marsh.

“I really liked seeing the baby crabs,” she said.