Maritime Aquarium’s Study Cruises Return in May

Photo/ Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

In May, the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut will begin offering hands-on study cruises where visitors can enjoy a boat ride and see crabs, fish, lobsters and other creatures brought up right out of Long Island Sound.

According to ConnecticutPlus.com, the aquarium’s Marine Life Study Cruises will depart on Saturdays at 1 p.m., May 5 to June 30. They’ll push off at 1 p.m. daily in July and August.

During each two-and-a-half-hour cruise aboard the research vessel Oceanic, animals are collected from different water levels and bottom habitats of Long Island Sound. A video microscope provides a magnified look at wriggly plankton gathered at the sunlit surface. Tiny crabs and worms emerge from a sampling of the anaerobic muddy bottom. A biodredge reveals a hidden world of sponges, snails and mollusks. And everyone inspects the trawl net’s bounty — varieties of fish and crabs, lobsters, sea stars, squid and always a few surprises.