Monster White Sturgeon Caught in Canada

GrindTV

"The thrill of a lifetime." That is how Michael Snell of Salisbury, England described this incredible catch.  In the summer of 2012, Michael landed this monster fish on the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada while on a guided fishing tour.  The fish weighed approximately 1,100 pounds (498.9 kg) and measured 12 feet, 4 inches. 

GindTV

White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) are prehistoric-looking fish that potentially can reach up to 1,800 lbs and almost 20 feet in length.  They are the largest freshwater fish in North America.  Sturgeon can live to be over a hundred years old.

After getting video and photographs, the thousand pound fish was released back into the river.  Here is the full video from GrindTV:

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/video/monster_white_sturgeon_caught_in_canada/#65446

Radioactive Fish Found Off of Coast of Japan

Mike, the Murasoi - Sebastes pachycephalus (TEPCO)

Scientists from Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) say a murasoi fish found near Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan had levels of radiation over 2,500 times the legal safe limit for seafood.  In 2011, a massive tsunami severely damaged the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in radioactive contamination from reactor meltdowns.

Despite the extremely high levels of radiation, the fish had no visible signs of mutations.  Murasoi (Sebastes pachycephalus) are members of the rockfish family and grow to a maximum length of about 42 cm (16.5 inches).

The media has dubbed this fish "Mike, the Murasoi."

Fish are not the only wildlife to be affected by the reactor meltdowns:
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/fukushima-radiation-causes-insect-mutations-researchers-20120817-24cy2.html

Bluefin Tuna Sold for nearly $400,000 (32.49m yen) at Tokyo Auction

(AP)

A record 32.49m yen (near $400,000) was paid by two restaurant owners in a Tokyo Auction for 754 lb Bluefin Tuna.  The owners, Ricky Cheng and Yosuke Imada, will split up the meat and use it for sushi in their restaurants. The astounding sales price equals out to around $530 per pound.  The record sale also raises concerns for the fish species. Some experts believe the population of the valuable fish has declined by nearly 90% since the 1970s due to overfishing and pollution. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas voted  in November to cut the Bluefin Tuna fishing quota in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 13,500 to 12,900 tons annually, but conservationists wanted an even larger cutback.

New Species of Giant Crayfish Found in Tennessee

Reuters

Biologists Chris Taylor from the University of Illinois and Guenter Schuster of Eastern Kentucky have recently discovered a new species of crayfish (commonly called crawdads or crawfish) in Tennessee.  The uniqueness of the species comes from the size of the creatures - about twice as big as other crayfish in the area. According to the Reuters article,

"This isn't a crayfish that someone would have picked up and just said, 'Oh, it's another crayfish,' and put it back," said University of Illinois aquatic biologist Chris Taylor, one of the researchers.

"You would have recognized it as something really, really different and you would have saved it," Taylor added in a statement.

The new species, Barbicambarus simmonsi, is about 12 cm (5 inches) long and most specimens are recovered under large rocks in deep areas on creeks. Read more here.

Amazing Pictures of New Species of Deep Sea Fish (treehugger.com)

 Check out these awesome pictures from "Edith Widder on Mimicking the Glow of Deep Sea Fish to Discover New Species" on treehugger.com:

A deep-sea fish with a built-in headlight used to seek out prey and attract mates. This fish, sometimes referred to as the rat-trap fish, has a remarkable jaw that can unhinge allowing the fish to swallow prey bigger than itself.

This shrimp spews bioluminescence out of its mouth like a fire breathing dragon in order to temporarily blind a predator allowing the shrimp time to escape into the darkness. The predator, in this case, is a viperfish that has bioluminescent light organs all along its belly that it uses to camouflage itself against downwelling sunlight. This trick, called counterillumination, is used by many fish, shrimp and squid to help them hide from predators swimming below them.

 

The electronic jellyfish lure designed to imitate the pinwheel bioluminescent display of the Atolla wyvillei (treehugger.com)

The common deep-sea jellyfish Atolla wyvillei as it appears under white light. Photos courtesy of Edith Widder

A new species of squid attracted by the electronic jellyfish lure.



Woman Attacks Two Men With A Fish

In Norton Shores, Michigan, a woman attacked two ice fisherman with a fish. She said she had to urinate and asked the two men to turn away as she did this. They complied, and while they were turned around, she hit both men in the head with a fish. The woman was reportedly upset that the two victims were ice fishing too close to where she was. According to the Muskegon Chronicle, the men will not press charges. Read the AP's summary here.