Fishosaur

When deep sea fishing goes horribly wrong

OK, things didn't go that wrong, but I certainly wouldn't want something like this to happen to me. Imagine you're just innocently deep sea fishing when this happens. And, no, I'm not going to tell you what happens, you'll have to watch it yourself.

Disclaimer: while this site normally concentrates on fish posing with people, in this case we've received a special dispensation.

A Wels Catfish photo spectacular

Not all of these are photos of the Wels catfish (Weller, Silurus glanis), a ginormous beastie mostly found in Europe and famously in the Ebro River in Spain. And, the soundtrack is some wimpy pop tune rather than the folk metal that most experts agree fits in more with the fishes' mood. And, none of the pictures involve noodling. That said, enjoy.

German man poses with alleged world record common carp

This video shows a German posing with his friend and business associate, the alleged world record common carp. I say alleged because the video is four years old (3.5 years in carp years) and someone else claims to have caught a larger carp. However, whether they're referring to the same subspecies isn't clear.

Rather than quibbling, I suggest just enjoying the video, especially the "techno" soundtrack (a genre that's very popular in Europe).

My German is a bit rusty, but as close as I can make out, he and his associate travel from town to town in Europe on modeling assignments, supermarket openings and the like pausing only to occasionally douse his partner in water. While catfish can weigh hundreds of pounds, and mola mola can reach over a couple tons, in Europe the common carp is revered for their pagan rituals, and a 76lb 7oz example is king.

Giant Squid-fest 2009

Here's a slideshow video featuring several photographs of giant squids posing with humans. Or, the other way around if you prefer. Now, you might wonder why the guy in the orange safety vest is lying down next to one of the gigantic beasties, and you might really wonder why a group of people are in what looks like a hot tub with another, but it's all in the name of science:

Massive 771lb stingray poses with British, Thais

A world record stingray - weighing a massive 771 pounds and measuring 7' in diameter with a 10' tail - was recently spotted in Thailand posing with freshwater biologist boffin Ian Welch and his pals (link, link, link). The stingray initially resisted the posing, even going as far as dragging Welch across his boat. He (Welch) was there to tag various creatures as part of a conservancy thing or something along the Maeklong River. The ray - which was a pregnant female - was released and went on her way.

There is some dispute over the weight of his friend, with some saying it was only a few hundred pounds. However, based on the fact that it took 13 men to assist in the posing, I will assume for the moment that the 771 lb. figure is correct.

Barreleye fish finally caught on video

The "barreleye" fish (Macropinna microstoma) is one of the stranger creatures you're going to see this week. The two spots above its mouth are not eyes but are the equivalent of nostrils. Its eyes are the large green objects inside its translucent head. The video was actually shot in 2004 by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (link) but was only released yesterday.

Note that the eyes can rotate in its head depending on where its prey is located and of course where any predators are. The video was shot between about 2000 and 2600' below the surface off the central California coast.

Special note: while this site usually deals with large fishes - especially those which are posing with humans - we've received a special dispensation in this case since the translucent head occupies a large part of this beastie's body.

Pike ice fishing video is true 'cinema'

There are a lot of ice fishing videos available online, for everything from walleye to muskie to pike and beyond. However, once per decade, a video comes along that blows them all away and earns the coveted Fishosaur "Two Fins Up, Way Up" award.

And, "Pike 13.4 kgs( 29 lbs 9 oz)" is that video.

Don't let its prosaic name fool you. It has it all, including a long, introductory scene - shot in real time, cinema verite fashion - followed by a brief surrealistic section where the camera is turned at a 90 degree angle. However, then the tension begins, and the fish suddenly emerges from the ice hole (compare with deus ex machina from Greek drama). A modernistic, fast-paced section follows with the hook being removed from the fish's mouth using forceps. Then, the pike - the true diva of this extravaganza being lifted aloft to be weighed. The ending... well, I won't spoil that for you, but it will leave you wondering, "what happened?"

Bravo. Moltissimo bravo!

Giant cuttlefish hunts diver! Where are the dolphins when you need them?

A new seafood "chef" has been located: a female bottlenose dolphin off the Australian coast meticulously followed a procedure to remove the bones and ink from cuttlefish (link). Scientists speculate that this "recipe" might be passed down through generations. I speculate that one day the dolphins will rise up out of the seas and challenge our hegemony.

Meanwhile, you're asking, "what's a cuttlefish"? It looks like a garden slug, it has tentacles like an octopus, and it has three hearts pumping blue-green blood (link). One of these beasties is shown on the following video earnestly trying to hunt a human diver. Either that, or just being curious:

Catching a world record striped marlin

This site is torn. Fish are food. At the same time, fish are sea kittens. So, please don't tell PETA that I'm linking to the following video of a 345 pound world-record marlin being taken (that's a euphemism) off the coast of New Zealand a couple years ago. The mur... I mean, the spear fisherman was Dave Mullins, and he was "towed around the Pacific Ocean" for two and a half hours before what's shown on the video occurred.

Please don't tell PETA.

PETA's "sea kittens" spotted!

PETA's latest desperate cry for attention is their attempt to rename fish "sea kittens". No, really: link. What were they thinking? Were they thinking? Some attention is completely counter-productive, and this wacky plan is the very definition.

Despite what they think, I'm not about to change the name of this site to SeaKittenOSaur.com, but I was able to locate some sea kittens, which you can see on the following video:

Now that's a massive Mongolian trout!

Gigantic Fish Researcher and Master Biologist Zeb Hogan is back! This time, he's got video of humongous trout in Mongolia. You're going to need to bring an industrial size skillet to fry up these bad boys! Of course, you shouldn't do that because, due to global cooling they're an endangered species. So, do as Zeb does and simply steer them gently through the water at the cameraman, and then let them go:

Giant ocean sunfish forklifted away

You're going to need to turn your head sideways for this unfortunate picture [actually, this is another picture, the original one disappeared]:

That's an ocean sunfish, also known as Mola Mola, of the order tetraodontiformes. That picture was taken near Zamboanga City in the Philippines. These beasties can reach a ton and are most likely the largest bony fish in the world. And, according to this, they may contain toxins, but despite that some consider them a delicacy.

Supposedly Kamogawa SeaWorld caught the largest one of these: 8.9 feet from stem to stern and tipping the scales at 5071 pounds.

You can see a head-on drawing of a young one here, there are historic pictures here and here, and Kyle Weis was captured examining one here.

UPDATE: The original picture disappeared, so I replaced it with a picture of a Belgian holding a similar, albeit smaller fish.

Max Mayfield, grouper in hot, salty water

Did political enemies of former National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield "snitch" on him? That is the frightening possibility that first crossed my mind when learning that he was being investigated by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is part of NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration). The NHC is also part of that agency.

It happened like this:

The day after retiring, he went on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico, and he landed a 200 pound Goliath Grouper, also called a "Jewfish" (I don't make up these names, people). They dragged it into the boat, took a picture, then released it. Only one problem: that fish is on the endangered species list, and even just pulling it out of the water may (or may not) harm protective slime covered the fish. Someone saw the picture in the paper and dropped a dime, resulting in the investigation. Just an over-zealous PETA member or the like? Or, something perhaps related to his work at the NHC? And, who else is in on the conspiracy?

Miss Vietnam brings fish to festival

At first glance, you might ask, "Why is Miss Vietnam Mai Phuong Thuy carrying a fish?" At second glance, you might ask, "What is she doing with her hand? Is she, you know, carrying something else? Is the Miss a former Mr.?"

I urge you to purge all such thoughts from your mind and enjoy the spectacle of a beautiful young lady carrying food. And, in fact, she has a good explanation: it was for a TV episode about the upcoming Tet festival in Vietnam, to take place from February 16 to 20.

Frilled shark video from Japan

Courtesy of the Awashima Marine Park (via CNN, via some guy video taping his TV) comes this video of a "frilled shark", a rarely seen species known as Chlamydoselachus anguineus. AP report here. They normally live thousands of feet beneath the waves, and they've changed little over time and are thus sometimes supposedly called a "living fossil". The one in the video is a female and about 5 feet long, and it unfortunately went to the big fishery in the sky shortly after being moved into a seawater pool where the video was shot. Per an official of the park:

"We believe moving pictures of a live specimen are extremely rare... They live between 1,968 and 3,280 feet (600 and 1,000 meters) under the water, which is deeper than humans can go... We think it may have come close to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters."