MetaFilter posts tagged with fish

Wayne Levin

vronsky — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:03:48 -0800

Photos by Wayne Levin of surf ers, swim mers, fish and more. (-v-)

Aquacalypse Now

kliuless — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:43:38 -0800

The End of Fish - maybe it's finally time for an environmental accounting, cuz the 'bill' is coming due; stocks and flows, folks.

Free dinner! George Monbiot shows how to catch and prepare American crayfish.

handee — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:13:20 -0800

The native British white-clawed crayfish is threatened by extinction from the signal crayfish. Today's Guardian features George Monbiot with one approach to the problem: how to catch and prepare signal crayfish, the brash American cousin. Nice use of recycled materials and beer, but needs more paella recipes.

G-g-g-ghost shark?

darkstar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:28:11 -0800

A newly identified species of Chimaera is patrolling the waters off of California and Baja California.

California has a new star, the Eastern Pacific black ghostshark. But the newly identified species prefers to stay out of the sun—and the spotlight. And with a club-like sex organ on its forehead, the male ghostshark isn't likely to get any leading man roles.

The Florida Museum of Natural History has better photos of its Australian relative.

Fish got your tongue?

zerobyproxy — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:24:02 -0800

Tongue-eating parasite found (with freak-you-out pic) off Jersey coast. Sweet dreams mefites.

All Watched Over by Machines of Slicing, Dicing, Chopping, Mixing and Sorting Grace

Deathalicious — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:54:04 -0800

They slice. They dice. They make tempura shrimp. I'm not exactly sure who or what PF Max Company is, but this collection of YouTube videos -- featuring factory machines designed to cut, slice, sort, and do unspeakable things to fish -- is fascinating to watch. There are dozens of videos; these were selected for their toe-tapping (rolling out imitation crab & scallop) musical accompaniment (shredding fish to make Surimi). ⚠Warning: these videos depict bad things happening to (dead) fish so if that upsets you, don't watch. For those of you who like a little more explanation with your weird machines, enjoy this narrated video featuring a machine that decapitates fish, guts them, and separates out the roe (you've totally been warned). (found via Cracked, I'm ashamed to say)

The tale of the coelacanth

WhySharksMatter — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:47:57 -0800

The amazing story of the coelacanth is one of the wonders of the living world that inspires marine biologists such myself. Coelacanths, part of the offshoot lineage of fishes known as "lobed finned ", are very different from typical "ray finned" fishes that you usually think of. Their bizarre lobed fins are thought to be an intermediate step between fish fins and amphibian legs. Scientists had known that these weird fish existed because of fossils for over a century, but we believed that they went extinct 65 million years ago... until a South African fisherman caught one in 1938. Though the fisherman didn't know exactly what he had caught, he knew that it was noteworthy enough to save and bring to the museum in his small fishing village of East London. The head of the museum was Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, who contacted a famous South African fish biologist named J. L. B. Smith. Smith originally named the genus Malania after the South African prime minister who gave him money to search for more coelacanths, but since prime minister Malan was also the architect of apartheid, the name was eventually changed to Latimeria after the head of the East London Museum (the full scientific name is now Latimeria chalumnae, for the Chalum river where the fish was caught). Despite intensive searching and a large reward, it was almost 15 years before a second specimen was found. We now know a little bit more about this fascinating species. They can grow to larger than six feet in length and can weight up to 200 pounds. They have rough scales unlike most other existing fish species. They have internal egg fertilization, but the eggs hatch inside the mother and the young are born alive. They usually live in the deep sea, over 2,000 feet below the surface. Most alarming of all is that scientists estimate a population of only around 1,000 individuals, making coelacanths one of the most endangered animals on Earth. They survived for tens of millions of years after the dinosaurs went extinct, but they now face extinction in our lifetimes. I'll share with you a thought that keeps myself and other marine biologists going during times when the job seems rough... if it took us until 1938 to find the coelacanth, what else is down there?

Life is beautiful. For some of us, more than others. Ah, fishing.

filthy light thief — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:54:43 -0800

In the early 1990s, John Lurie videotaped his vacations with William Dafoe, where they did their own comedic re-interpretation of an early-morning fishing show. From this tape (or possibly so his fishing trips could be tax write-off), Fishing with John was born. The show is a series of six episodes (segmented on YouTube), each at a different location with a different fishing friend (though Lurie's trip through the Andaman Sea with Dennis Hopper spans the last two episodes). The show, called by some fishing as performance art, is pared with a soundtrack that is a mix of sounds, part Lurie's band The Lounge Lizards (discography), part overly dramatic .. something.

End of the line

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:06:07 -0800

RIP Benson The Carp, 'the people's fish'... yes, it's the Silly Season again.

Now that's what I call a screensaver

jontyjago — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:53:29 -0800

Kuroshio Sea HD Video of the world's second largest aquarium tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan (via). The world's largest tank would appear to be the Ocean Voyager tank (built by Home Depot no less) at the Georgia Aquarium. This tank also contains Whale Sharks, but in their Cold Water tank they have Beluga Whales.

World's Oldest Penis

Dilemma — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:00:08 -0800

Australian scientists have found the world's oldest penis. Published Monday in the online version of Nature, the discovery of the 400 million-year-old clasper in an ancient fish specimen shows that animals were gettin' it on earlier than previously thought. Says one study author, "We were surprised because it's so big. We were expecting something smaller." SFW

Ay ay ay, ay ay ay...

LSK — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:33:59 -0800

Everybody's hugging up the big monkey man. Seriously, everybody.

Stunning Underwater Photography

srboisvert — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:06:46 -0800

Stunning Underwater Photography A website filled with incredible underwater photography. Particularly impressive shots of a sardine bait ball being attacked by dolphins, sharks, whales and birds.

The One That Got Away

netbros — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:03:07 -0800

A single nutrient may have turned early humans into civilized man. Has stripping it from our diet given rise to cancer, diabetes, and other civilized diseases? "There has been a thousandfold increase in the consumption of soybean oil over the past hundred years. The result is an unplanned experiment in brain and heart chemistry, one whose subject is the entire population of the developed world." A series of epidemiological studies showed that populations that consume high levels of omega-3s in the form of seafood are the least afflicted by the major diseases associated with the Western diet. (via) For those averse to seafood and supplements, there are non-fishy ways to boost dietary levels of omega-3. You can mill flaxseed in a coffee grinder and sprinkle it on your morning cereal; opt for grass-fed beef and free-range or omega-3 enriched eggs; and load up on walnuts, blueberries, and spinach every chance you get. Most of all, though, favor fats and spreads with a relatively low ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s (think canola and olive oils rather than corn and sunflower oils). And the old wisdom holds true: stay away from trans fats, tropical oils, and saturated fats.

Lovely, Beautiful Transparent Fish!

Lipstick Thespian — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:37:11 -0800

See-through Species! Some quick links to a lovely, transparent fish courtesy of Born Animal and Pharyngula The beauty of the aquatic world never ceases to amaze and delight me. Enjoy! and thanks to Mudpuppie and BoringPostcards from Metachat.

eyevolution

Pants! — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:09:11 -0800

Although the evolution of the eye is often pointed to by evolution's skeptics as evidence of design, biologists have been quick to point out evidence to the contrary. Today, Julian Partridge of Bristol University's Ecology of Vision Research Unit has brought to light evidence of a Pacific fish that has evolved biological mirrors for navigating murky water.

These aren't jellyfish...

furtive — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:54:40 -0800

Similar to coral, and much like the individual cells in our body, the individual zooids of Siphonophorae are so specialized that they lack the ability to survive on their own. Siphonophorae thus exist at the boundary between colonial and complex multicellular organisms. The Portuguese Man of War is probably the best known example of a Siphonophore, but there are others out there, some of which may well blow your mind.

Fish

Pants! — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:54:44 -0800

In an innovative approach to record breaking, the world-renowned Todd Lamb set a new record for the most images of fish sandwiches looked at in sixty seconds.

Paradise Lost in Translation

mdn — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:09:52 -0800

A new 'prose translation' of Milton's classic poem has been written by Prof Dennis Danielson in an effort to help make it available to a wider audience, if they find the original language too difficult. Apparently he wasn't the first to think of it, but considers his a translation rather than a retelling, and it is printed as a dual edition / parallel text. so, useful pedagogical tool, or evidence that we're forgetting how to read?

Yum - Yum...Gone!

adamvasco — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:28:14 -0800

Overfishing - a global disaster: A Seafood Snob Ponders the Future of Fish while time runs out for Japan's dangerous obsession with the bluefin.
Blue Ocean Institute’s seafood program helps consumers discover the connection between a healthy ocean, fishing, and seafood. Here is a Guide to Good Fish guides., and some political recommendations.

Scientists Determine the Fishiest Election Ever (LiveScience)

bondgirl53001 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:56:45 -0800

Scientists make fish "vote" by having them choose an artificial fish to follow. Shocker: There's not a lot of individual decision-making.. I always did say some people are as intelligent as fish..

Something's fishy in this state, too

flotson — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:22:39 -0800

Very, er, unusual voting results in Alaska. This Huffington Post article describes seriously, seriously fishy results in Tuesday's election in Alaska. The Alaska Division of Elections is reporting the lowest voter turnout in Alaska's history, for one. (Despite, for example, large increases in voter registration, primary voting, and the largest ever turnout of early voters.)

Kittens of the Sea

mippy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:23:22 -0800

Fish. They're ugly and they smell. You can't find many calendars with them on, and they lose out to pandas when it comes to zoo adoption. But wait! PETA are going to save fish through canny PR. Say hello to Sea Kittens.

Mackerel Economics in Prison Leads to Appreciation for Oily Fillets - Wall Street Journal

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:01:03 -0800

As dollar flounders, inmates stack mackerel

The seafood lover that's hopefully not actually IN you

crapmatic — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:53:20 -0800

Worms in your fresh fish? We've heard about them in sushi for years, but stories are on the rise of creeping condiments from supermarkets. The FAO says they're actually not uncommon though "worms are unsightly and consumers naturally object to their presence". One theory holds that they're on the rise due to cost-driven onshore processing. Icked-out consumers have been posting videos on YouTube 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, while others have sought solace in discussion forums. But the good news? Cook thoroughly and you'll be safe. Me, I'll be sticking to enchiladas.