Showing posts with label fish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fish. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Bizarre river creatures
River is home to some of the millions of fresh-water type of animals – not to mention its body is being lurk by the creepiest river monsters day and night. These type of monsters are like the ones your mom used to scare you when you’re just a kid. Creatures straight from your nightmare, actually.
A close relative of the piranha, the payara is often called the “vampire fish” because of its long fangs, which can grow to 6 inches in length. This little-known but frightening-looking fish is found in the Orinoco River in Venezuela.
When your name is “Goliath,” you’d better be one humongous, ferocious creature, and the goliath tigerfish definitely lives up to its moniker. A native of the Congo River basin, the Lualaba River, Lake Upemba and Lake Tanganyika in Africa, it’s the largest member of the tigerfish clan, a genus of fierce predators with protruding, daggerlike teeth. The biggest one on record was nearly 5 feet long and weighed 154 pounds, the equivalent of a super-welterweight prizefighter. And it outclasses other African game fish in speed and power.
Not a pretty fish, the African lungfish is a harmless but truly frightening-looking river monster. The largest specimens can reach about 6.6 feet in length. African lungfish are periodically exposed to water with low oxygen content or situations in which their aquatic environment dries up. Their adaptation for dealing with these conditions is an outpocketing of the gut that serves as a lung.
Jeremy Wade holds a 72-pound, 5-foot-long piraiba catfish. These formidable fish can grow to over 10 feet in length and 600 pounds in weight. This powerful fish can drown a wrestling fisherman by dragging him to the bottom of the river. One story tells of a fisherman diving down to untangle a fishing net and vanishing, only to reappear hours later over halfway down the gullet of a giant piraiba.
The Nile perch is considered one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species, though Jeremy caught this one in its native habitat. This species can grow to 6 feet in length and weigh over 500 pounds. This river monster has caused catastrophic declines among native fish populations in areas where it’s been introduced.
Vampire Piranha
A close relative of the piranha, the payara is often called the “vampire fish” because of its long fangs, which can grow to 6 inches in length. This little-known but frightening-looking fish is found in the Orinoco River in Venezuela.
Goliath Tigerfish
When your name is “Goliath,” you’d better be one humongous, ferocious creature, and the goliath tigerfish definitely lives up to its moniker. A native of the Congo River basin, the Lualaba River, Lake Upemba and Lake Tanganyika in Africa, it’s the largest member of the tigerfish clan, a genus of fierce predators with protruding, daggerlike teeth. The biggest one on record was nearly 5 feet long and weighed 154 pounds, the equivalent of a super-welterweight prizefighter. And it outclasses other African game fish in speed and power.
African lungfish
Not a pretty fish, the African lungfish is a harmless but truly frightening-looking river monster. The largest specimens can reach about 6.6 feet in length. African lungfish are periodically exposed to water with low oxygen content or situations in which their aquatic environment dries up. Their adaptation for dealing with these conditions is an outpocketing of the gut that serves as a lung.
Piraiba Catfish
Jeremy Wade holds a 72-pound, 5-foot-long piraiba catfish. These formidable fish can grow to over 10 feet in length and 600 pounds in weight. This powerful fish can drown a wrestling fisherman by dragging him to the bottom of the river. One story tells of a fisherman diving down to untangle a fishing net and vanishing, only to reappear hours later over halfway down the gullet of a giant piraiba.
Nile Perch
The Nile perch is considered one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species, though Jeremy caught this one in its native habitat. This species can grow to 6 feet in length and weigh over 500 pounds. This river monster has caused catastrophic declines among native fish populations in areas where it’s been introduced.
Monday, January 25, 2010
So you think you've had a bad day? Spare a thought for the world's most miserable-looking fish, which is now in danger of being wiped out
The unfortunately named blobfish has already acquired a reputation for looking sad.
And now it has good reason for its glum expression - scientists are warning over-fishing by trawlers of its south eastern Australian habitat is threatening to make it extinct.
The bloated bottom dweller, which can grow up to 12 inches, lives at depths of up to 800m, so it rarely seen by humans.
But thanks to increased fishing, the fish is being dragged up with other catches.
Despite being unedible itself, the blobfish lives at the same depths as other more appetising ocean organisms, including crab and lobster.
Deep-sea expert Professor Callum Roberts, from University of York, said the blobfish had plenty to be miserable about.
Prof Roberts, author The Unnatural History of the Sea, said: 'Blobfish are very vulnerable to being dragged up in these nets and from what we know this fish is only restricted to these waters.
'The Australian and New Zealand deep-trawling fishing fleets are some of the most active in the world so if you are a blobfish then it is not a good place to be.
'A very large amount of the deep sea is under threat from bottom trawling, which is one of the most destructive forms of fishing.
'There are some deep-water protected areas around sea mounts in the Southern Ocean but that is only really to protect coral and not the blobfish.
'We've been overfishing areas up to about 200m deep and now we have moved off those continental shelves and into the deep sea in areas a couple of thousand metres deep.
'In 2006 conservationists came very close to achieving a global moratorium on restricting bottom trawling on the high seas.
'They came within a whisker of that but Iceland rejected it so the United Nations was charged with protecting the deep sea species.
'If you add together all the area of the deep sea that has actually been looked at, then it is an area about the size of Paris - [the rest] is a really unexplored area, but we could be destroying it.'
And now it has good reason for its glum expression - scientists are warning over-fishing by trawlers of its south eastern Australian habitat is threatening to make it extinct.
The bloated bottom dweller, which can grow up to 12 inches, lives at depths of up to 800m, so it rarely seen by humans.
But thanks to increased fishing, the fish is being dragged up with other catches.Despite being unedible itself, the blobfish lives at the same depths as other more appetising ocean organisms, including crab and lobster.
Deep-sea expert Professor Callum Roberts, from University of York, said the blobfish had plenty to be miserable about.
Prof Roberts, author The Unnatural History of the Sea, said: 'Blobfish are very vulnerable to being dragged up in these nets and from what we know this fish is only restricted to these waters.
'The Australian and New Zealand deep-trawling fishing fleets are some of the most active in the world so if you are a blobfish then it is not a good place to be.
'A very large amount of the deep sea is under threat from bottom trawling, which is one of the most destructive forms of fishing.'There are some deep-water protected areas around sea mounts in the Southern Ocean but that is only really to protect coral and not the blobfish.
'We've been overfishing areas up to about 200m deep and now we have moved off those continental shelves and into the deep sea in areas a couple of thousand metres deep.
'In 2006 conservationists came very close to achieving a global moratorium on restricting bottom trawling on the high seas.
'They came within a whisker of that but Iceland rejected it so the United Nations was charged with protecting the deep sea species.
'If you add together all the area of the deep sea that has actually been looked at, then it is an area about the size of Paris - [the rest] is a really unexplored area, but we could be destroying it.'
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Fisherman reels in monster 6ft perch... after battling with a CROCODILE
It's not often that you'd describe the angler, rather than the fish, as the one that got away.
But that was certainly the case for Tim Smith, who lived to tell the tale after tussling with a crocodile over this monster 6ft Nile perch.
The art teacher, 39, had already been engaged in a titanic battle to reel in the 249lb fish for 45 minutes in his tiny motor boat on the Victoria Nile in Uganda when he realised he had a fiercer rival.
Fortunately, however, it was the 39-year-old art teacher who turned out to be the one that got away, managing to tether his catch to the boat before firing the motor into life, leaving his opponent empty-mouthed in his wake.
And he was able to pose by his giant prize - which may be a record - for this spectacular photograph.
Back from his Ugandan trip and home to mercifully crocodile-free Northern Ireland, he told yesterday of his transformation from being the hunter to the hunted.
He had been grappling with the fish while in a small boat on the Victoria Nile in Uganda, about a mile downstream from the stunning Murchison Falls, for about 45 minutes when he realised he had competition.
'Suddenly the boat lurched and I nearly fell out,' he said. 'I didn't really know what had happened.
'The next thing is, the crocodile launches itself at me, mouth wide open.'
Fortunately it had misjudged its jump and fell short, hitting the side of the boat.
'If it had launched itself another foot I'm sure it would have got hold of me,' he added.
'It obviously hit the front of the boat to try and knock me out and then went to the other side.
'When you realise something that size is trying to eat you, it's really quite daunting. I just fell back into the centre of the boat, still holding the rod.'
By then the fish had almost given up the fight, lying flat on the water close to the boat, giving the reptile its final chance.
'I just saw the crocodile swim up and grab the fish's tail and spin it around in a death roll, but because of the size of the fish it couldn't get a proper grip,' said Mr Smith.
That enabled him to grab his catch, tie it to the side of the boat, pull up the anchor and make his getaway - and just in time.
'By the time I got the engine started the crocodile was just coming around,' he said. 'I slammed into gear and the croc dived and disappeared.'
Mr Smith, who works at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, then drifted down the river, tied the fish to a tree and went to a nearby wildlife safari lodge to get help.
He is now applying to the International Game Fish Association to have his Nile perch established as a record - until now, the heaviest caught on a rod and line weighed just 230lb.
Nile perch - which themselves have a voracious appetite - were controversially introduced to Lake Victoria and surrounding rivers in the 1950s, quickly decimating native species.
They have, however, provided a useful source of income for local people, both through commercial fishing for export to Europe and also international angling tourism.
But that was certainly the case for Tim Smith, who lived to tell the tale after tussling with a crocodile over this monster 6ft Nile perch.
The art teacher, 39, had already been engaged in a titanic battle to reel in the 249lb fish for 45 minutes in his tiny motor boat on the Victoria Nile in Uganda when he realised he had a fiercer rival.
Fortunately, however, it was the 39-year-old art teacher who turned out to be the one that got away, managing to tether his catch to the boat before firing the motor into life, leaving his opponent empty-mouthed in his wake.And he was able to pose by his giant prize - which may be a record - for this spectacular photograph.
Back from his Ugandan trip and home to mercifully crocodile-free Northern Ireland, he told yesterday of his transformation from being the hunter to the hunted.
He had been grappling with the fish while in a small boat on the Victoria Nile in Uganda, about a mile downstream from the stunning Murchison Falls, for about 45 minutes when he realised he had competition.
'Suddenly the boat lurched and I nearly fell out,' he said. 'I didn't really know what had happened.
'The next thing is, the crocodile launches itself at me, mouth wide open.'
Fortunately it had misjudged its jump and fell short, hitting the side of the boat.'If it had launched itself another foot I'm sure it would have got hold of me,' he added.
'It obviously hit the front of the boat to try and knock me out and then went to the other side.
'When you realise something that size is trying to eat you, it's really quite daunting. I just fell back into the centre of the boat, still holding the rod.'
By then the fish had almost given up the fight, lying flat on the water close to the boat, giving the reptile its final chance.
'I just saw the crocodile swim up and grab the fish's tail and spin it around in a death roll, but because of the size of the fish it couldn't get a proper grip,' said Mr Smith.
That enabled him to grab his catch, tie it to the side of the boat, pull up the anchor and make his getaway - and just in time.
'By the time I got the engine started the crocodile was just coming around,' he said. 'I slammed into gear and the croc dived and disappeared.'
Mr Smith, who works at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, then drifted down the river, tied the fish to a tree and went to a nearby wildlife safari lodge to get help.
He is now applying to the International Game Fish Association to have his Nile perch established as a record - until now, the heaviest caught on a rod and line weighed just 230lb.
Nile perch - which themselves have a voracious appetite - were controversially introduced to Lake Victoria and surrounding rivers in the 1950s, quickly decimating native species.
They have, however, provided a useful source of income for local people, both through commercial fishing for export to Europe and also international angling tourism.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Amazing and Strange Picture of giant 10ft conger eel that makes feeding the 5,000 seem possible
We have all heard how Jesus fed the five thousand with a single fish and just three loaves of bread.Well this incredible 10ft conger eel makes the biblical miracle seem much more possible.
Caught off the British coast, the huge fish weighs a hefty 100lb (45kg) and is nearly twice as long as its new owner Matt Endacott.
And the fishmonger is offering to sell the entire eel for a giant supper until Saturday.
Fishmonger Matt bought the giant eel at market because it was the biggest he'd ever seen.
The average conger eel weighs just 5kg and is around 3ft.
This outstanding example was caught by sea fisherman Dean Corbett of Torquay, Devon, who sold it to Matt for £50.
Matt, of Jackson Ltd, Newton Abbot, Devon, is now asking if anyone will buy the giant eel whole before he cuts it into pieces.
He said: 'It is the biggest one I have ever seen.
'We had one a few years ago that was 8ft, but this is 10ft.
'It is a vast specimen and weighs 46kg gutted.
'Luckily we have large slab and can take a fish this size.
'Supermarkets have smaller slabs and would never be able to show it to the public.
'We will have it on a slab until Saturday afternoon and then will prep it up and sell it fresh and smoked.'
Conger eel is not a popular dish in the UK because they are an ugly fish - but Matt claims it is delicious.
He said: 'It is certainly underrated in the country as a product because it's a large, ugly and slimy looking beast.'
The largest conger eel caught in England was snared off Falmouth in Cornwall and weighed 210lb (95kg).
The world record is held in Iceland for an eel weighing 305lb (139kg).
The conger eel can be found all around the coast of Britain.
It favours wrecks, reefs and rough, rocky habitats.
During the night they tend to swim in shallower waters closer to the shore.
Despite its enormous size and aggressive appearance, the conger eel is a shy creature and hastily retreats to its lair when threatened.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
