PADDLEBOARDER FINDS STRANGE-LOOKING SEA LIFE SEA SALPS <br />WITH PIX AND VID<br />By Shuk Yee Tsang<br />A paddleboarder was left stunned after stumbling across what looked like a floating lifeform drifting just beneath the ocean’s surface.<br />Bill Clements, from California, USA, captured the unusual encounter while out on the water when he spotted a strange, translucent organism below him.<br />The footage offers a rare, up-close glimpse at one of the ocean’s strangest and most misunderstood drifters.<br />Bill says sightings tend to be seasonal. Despite their alien appearance, salps are completely harmless.<br />The mysterious creatures were salps, harmless, jelly-like marine animals that often form long, connected chains.<br />Bill said: “In that moment, I was thinking to myself, what a strange-looking organism, I wonder what it could be?” <br />“Drawn by my curiosity, I paddled closer for a better look.<br />“There are several types of salps, but the most common one looks like a coil of gelatinous ribbon because there are multiple organisms connected to one another. <br />“I believe they are seasonal, because there are times of the year where I see them more frequently. For example, in the spring and early summer I have more encounters. <br />“It helps if it’s a slightly overcast day because their bioluminescence appears brighter beneath the surface.”<br />“Salps are completely harmless to handle, unlike jellyfish which have stinging tentacles. <br />“So in some of my videos where I’m holding the salps, it’s completely safe.”<br />END
