Starfish abroad and while traveling: are they dangerous, where do you encounter them, where can you see them?

What are starfish?

• Starfish are marine invertebrates, animals without a backbone just like sea urchins and sea cucumbers.
• So they are not fish, despite the fact that they are called starfish in English.
• Starfish have no brain and not even blood. They eat by filtering seawater with their nervous system.
• Starfish can live up to 35 years! So do not disturb them, so that they can reach their old age.
• The 5-armed stars are the most well-known, but some starfish grow up to 40 arms!
• If a piece of their arm breaks off, they can simply grow it back themselves. But this does take a lot of time and energy.

Where can you encounter starfish in the wild while travelling and abroad?

• The more than 1,900 species of starfish are found in seas and oceans worldwide.
• At low tide you can often find starfish on rocky coasts in tidal pools
• With strong wind or heatwaves starfish are sometimes found washed ashore in large numbers

Are starfish dangerous?

• Starfish are rarely dangerous if you step on them or if you touch them. Exceptions are mainly the specimens with large spines, such as the crown-of-thorns.
• Some starfish species are poisonous if you want to eat them. Since starfish are hard and calcareous and have no fleshy parts, there are only a few cultures in the world that include starfish in their diet.

What to do if you encounter a starfish in the wild?

• Above all, let the starfish continue to live in peace, observe it and go your own way.

Where can you work with starfish and protect coral reefs?

• Some starfish species are seen as pests, especially on coral reefs. Large groups of starfish can completely destroy a coral reef and thus threaten the local ecosystem.
• The North Atlantic starfish and the crown-of-thorns are, for example, being combated by conservationists on the Australian great barrier reef.
• Removing large numbers of starfish is very labor-intensive and can only be done by divers. Volunteers are often used for this.