Luminous creatures in Harwich harbour

[sroberts]

This morning I found myself staring at some strange luminous orange shapes swimming around just under the surface before dawn in the docks at Harwich, UK. They were able to put on a turn of speed as well - zooming 10's of meters in less than a second. I thought they might be squid (but in a harbour next to a ferry?) - anyone know what they were?

[emmie]

starfish perhaps? unless you live near a nuclear plant.

[mccfluff]

cuttlefish?

[heathfield]

Could be biolumunescence produced by tiny creatures such as plankton. One glows briefly, which triggers the one next to it to glow, and the effect is cumulative. Before you know it a patch of colour seems to race away just under the surface. Colours gan be green, blue, or orange.

[jomifl]

What shape and size were they? Bear in mind that fish swimming through water rich in phoshorescent organisms can appear to be phoshorescent themseves as they stimulate the organisms that they disturb as they swim past them, especially if they are swimmng quickly.