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| | Bad news for seafood loving diners: By 2048, the fish and seafood in the world could disappear. Over fishing and pollution is destroying the ocean's ecosystems at an alarming pace today according to researchers in the United States and Canada. The report of these researchers indicates that if changes are not made, sea-life will disappear. The study in the report is the most exhaustive to date on the subject and was published in the November 3rd issues of the US Journal Science. The report is entitled "Impact of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services." The study lasted for four years. The study and report concludes that if the trends continue, seafood species will collapse all together by 2048. Indeed, 29 of the currently fished species of sea-life were considered to be collapsed in 2003. The disturbing trend is not expected to abate absent of some very definitive intervention and a clear change in the way that sea life of different types are being fished and harvested today.
Interesting fish facts:
Historians prove that fish is traditionally one of the early symbols of Christianity. According to Greek, “fish” - Ίχθύς, “ichthys”, it is an acronym of the Greek phrase that is translated as "Jesus Christ, God’s son, The Saviour”.
This phrase is found on stone slabs - sacred relics in Jerusalem. The image of two fishes on the sides of a vertical anchor with the top portion in the form of cross was used as a secret “entry-password” at the time, when the first Christians were chased by Romans.
Fishes, which are dangerous to humans:
A considerable amount of fishes which pose danger to human beings, are found in Pacific Ocean.
They can be conventionally divided into 4 groups:
Stinging;
Fishes, which can cause traumas using prickles or horns (zebra fish, stingray);
Electric injuries or electrocution with a current (electric ray or shock fish);
Fish which can cause food poisoning.
A separate group constitutes fishes which can hit or fly over boats, can overturn, break them or injure people. The following fish can fall under this group: flying fishes, manta and some other skates, the sword-fish, etc.
Separately, it is also necessary to talk about the South American fresh-water catfish – candiru: it's thin as a match stick, it penetrates through all conceivable apertures in body, can even penetrate into urinogenital channel, which endangers the life of the attacked person. As a rule, an operation is required to remove the catfish - candiru.
Sharks:
The most popular dangerous fish is the shark.
Out of approximately 350 existing kinds of sharks, only some are rather dangerous. The greatest danger is posed by the kinds such as the great white shark, bull shark, tiger shark, short-fin mako shark and long-finned shark.
Some kinds of sharks such as the hammer-head shark, grey horn shark, sandbar shark, brown shark, oceanic white tip shark only slightly make way for the above-mentioned congeners in bloodthirstiness.
Blue sharks do not attack very often as the two above enlisted groups but are found in the length and breadth of the Pacific Ocean.
The least dangerous of this fish group are the mackerel sharks, seven-branchiate sharks, sleepers, zebra sharks, nurse sharks and the fox shark.
It is necessary to remember: any shark with a length of more than 80cm can pose a life threatening danger to person and hence it is not worth in anyway to provoke the representatives of this family.
Barracuda:
The Barracuda family consists of 26 kinds, the individual representatives of which can grow up to 2m in length (the smallest being 30 - 50 cm).
In spite of the fact that usually barracudas do not perceive swimmers as hunting objects, in individual cases, they can attack human beings. Thanks to their sharp teeth, strong jaws and speed, the stings of barracudas can lead to heavy bleeding and serious injuries.
Barracudas live in all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas and the Mediterranean barracuda is sometimes found in the Black sea.
Moray eels:
The Moray eel family consists of 11 kinds, some of which reach 3m length and weigh 10 kg (on an average, the length of individuals is up to 1.5). Moray eels are found in rock clefts and between stones of the seabed layer and can pose a danger to divers.
In regions with a developed diving infrastructure, moray eels are one of the “attractions” for tourists - they are quite comfortable with human beings and accept feeding from the “hands”. Nevertheless, humans can receive stings even during their quiet behavior. Cowed or entrapped moray eels are rather aggressive and can cause serious injuries with their sharp teeth (right up to the eating up of fingers).
Piranhas:
The Piranha is a family of small schooling fishes with a length of only up to 20-50cm (maximum of 60 cm). Piranhas are found in the river basins of the Amazon.
Of the available 30 kinds of piranhas, which are found in the rivers of South America, only 5 kinds are dangerous and two kinds are the most dangerous - the common piranha and big piranha. Piranhas pose danger to a person because the piranhas hunt in groups and can attack any object which was found in their waters. Due to the large number of fishes in groups, high movement speed and sharp teeth, piranhas literally tear apart the victim into small parts and feast leaving only the large bones. Nevertheless, many kinds of piranhas are suitable for aquariums.
Tiger fishes:
Tiger fishes are found in the Nile, Rudolf Island and Zambezi. Tiger fishes are active predators and can reach up to 1.5m in length. Huge individuals can pose a danger to a person by taking him as prey or an invader of its living space. Also, even after catching tiger fishes, it is necessary to be careful of their teeth since the tiger fish, which is taken out from the water can still inflict a serious sting.
Grouper:
The Jewfish or gigantic grouper, which are sometimes called stone groupers desperately protect their territory and can cause serious traumas to those, who, according to the fish, have intruded. Growing in weight up to 400 kg and a length of up to 3.6m and possessing a fighting nature, this fish can be dangerous to divers.
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[ The world's fish and seafood could disappear by 2048 as overfishing and pollution destroy ocean ecosystems at an accelerating pace, US and Canadian researchers reported. ]
