Category Archives: coral reefs

Top 10 Most Creepiest Fish: Number 1

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The Vandellia Fish

The number one fish on the list of top ten creepiest fish in the world is the vandellia fish! Do not let his appearance fool you! The vandellia is one of the most feared fish in the world, and you are about to find out why! You are probably already sitting, but I am going to suggest that you cross your legs at this time. Ready for the horrific details? Here they are!

Native to the Amazon River basins in South America, the vandellia lives in freshwater streams. Also known as the toothpick fish, this small slender nightmare is only about 2.5 cm long and 3.5 mm wide. Scaleless and translucent, it is nearly impossible to see in the water. vandella gill covers are covered with short, sharp spines. Why, you ask?

Normally a parasite of other fish, the vandellia will taste surrounding water then follow any stream of nitrogenous waste excreted from gills of fish. Once the host is located, the vandellia swims up and under the gill, expands the spines on its own gills to hold it in place, and begins sucking the blood of the host gill, gnawing a hole to the blood vessels which usually proves fatal to its victim.

The vandellia is feared among natives because it is attracted to blood and urine, and if a bather is nude it will swim into an orifice; the anus, vagina, or even the penis and deeper in the urethra! It then erects its spines and feeds on the blood and body tissue as it would the gills of a fish! The vandellia is then almost impossible to remove except through an operation, usually involving the amputation of the area!

A more expensive option is the use of two plants, the Xagua and the Buitach apple which are inserted into the affected area. The combination of these two plants will kill and dissolve the vandellia. Generally, the pain causes shock and death in the victim before the vandellia can be removed.

World Ocean Day on Gili Air, Gili Islands, Indonesia

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The 8th of June was a beautiful day. It started as a normal day, between 7 and 8 oclock in the morning people were waiting for their boat going to Gili Trawangan, or Lombok.

But around 9 more and more children came to the harbor, all the children of the village of Gili Air came to the meeting point to join the World Ocean Day games organized by the local community and Wild Life Society.

During the day there were competition in drawing, swimming, kayaking, collecting rubbish, tug ‘o’ war and beach and reef clean ups.

Hunderds of people were joining the day. Most of them were local. It is a great initiative, and the local population of the Island starts realizing how the important the oceans is for them and for the world.

Hopefully there will be a great event like this next year

Top 10 Most Creepiest Fish: Number 7

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The Blobfish

This poor thing looks as though he was just shown a mirror! The fact that such things exist outside of cartoons earned the blobfish a solid spot on the top ten creepiest fish list! Aside from having a face only a mother could love, the blobfish has no muscles. They survive on a feeding strategy that consist of sitting and waiting for anything edible to float by. With Jelly-like flesh that is slightly lighter than water, they are able to float above the sea floor without the need to expend energy or scarce oxygen to swim.

The low density flesh substitutes for a gas-filled swim bladder fish in waters less deep posses. However, at 300 ft depths, the pressure is about 80 times higher than sea level, so any gas would be too compressed to serve it’s purpose. Blobfish are rarely seen by humans due to the inaccessibility of its habitat

You like to know more: http://www.oceans5dive.com

Top 10 Most Creepiest Fish: Number 8

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The Basking Shark

I know what you’re thinking, and no, the basking shark is not also referred to as the mother-in-law of the ocean. While the skeleton of a shark is made up of cartilage, unlike the bones of a fish, technically a shark is a fish. With that being settled, we can move on to what secured this beast the number eight spot on the top ten creepiest fish in the world list.

The basking shark is a classic example of why you should never judge a book by its cover. The fierce look of this monster is the only thing that qualified it for the top ten creepiest fish. In fact, the basking shark poses no threat to humans at all if left alone. Established to be the second largest species of shark, and found all over the world, weighing in at up to 19 tons and as much as 40 ft long. It is also one of the three known species of filter-feeding sharks. Unlike the other two filter-feeders, the basking shark does not have the ability to use suction and actively pump water in to their pharynxes. Instead it must rely solely on the passive flow of water, which is strained for food by gill rakers, at a rate of 2000 tons of water per hour. This heavyweight survives on invertebrates, small fish and zooplankton.

The basking shark was once a staple of fisheries because of previously abundant numbers, unaggressive nature, and slow swimming speed. In fact, basking sharks have been protected, and it’s products restricted in many countries. Once considered a nuisance along the canadian Pacific coast, basking sharks were the target of a government eradication from 1945 to 1970. Now protected and monitored, they are an important draw to dive tourism in areas where they are common. Basking sharks are tolerant of boats and divers approaching, and may even circle curious divers.

For more information: Http://www.oceans5dive.com

Top 10 Most Endangered Fish: Number 7

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Orange Roughy

Also known as the “slimehead,” the orange roughy has a wide-ranging habitat that includes the coasts of New Zealand, Australia, Namibia and the northeast Atlantic Ocean. Its life expectancy is up to 149 years, and it reaches sexual maturation age between 20 and 32 years, making it the epitome of a species inherently vulnerable to overfishing. The pressure of overfishing is amplified by fishermen’s tendency to trawl for orange roughy when the fish congregate to feed and breed. The resulting catches wipe out generations. Though the IUCN hasn’t reviewed this species to determine if it is endangered, a number of other organizations have recognized the significant decline in its numbers after only 25 years of commercial harvesting.

Bycatch

Bycatch are sea creatures caught unintentionally. This can either be ocean dwellers other than the desired species or juveniles of the desired species.

Top 10 Most Endangered Fish: Number 9

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Beluga Sturgeon

While the beluga sturgeon is popular for its fillets, its eggs, known as “true caviar,” are regarded as a delicacy. Native to the Caspian Sea, these ancient fish can grow to 15 feet in length, weigh more than a ton and live to be 100 years old. Due to the popularity of their eggs, they’re heavily overfished — typically with gill nets. This particularly problematic because this species that doesn’t reach sexual maturity until 20 or 25 years of age. In addition to fishing pressures, beluga sturgeon suffer from habitat reduction, having lost 90 percent of their historic spawning grounds over the past several decades. Because of these pressures, the IUCN classified the beluga sturgeon as endangered, and the population is expected to continue its decline.

Gill Nets

Gill nets are nets that sit like a fence on the ocean floor. When a fish that is tcoo big to swim through the net tries to swim back out, it gets caught by the gills.

Top 10 Most Endangered Fish: Number 10

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Altantic Halibut

Found in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic halibut is the largest of the flat fish species.

Boasting a 50-year lifespan, it can reach a length of 9 feet and weigh up to 1,000 pounds. But because this slow-growing fish doesn’t become sexually mature until it’s 10 to 14 years old, it’s particularly susceptible to overfishing. While Atlantic halibut are normally caught with hooks-and-lines, they’re often caught as bycatch in bottom trawl fisheries. The IUCN classifies them as endangered, and their numbers are not expected recover in the near future. This has prompted the United States to ban Atlantic halibut fishing in its coastal waters.

Facts about the Blue Fin Tuna

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The Atlantic bluefin

The Atlantic bluefin tuna is one of the largest, fastest, and most gorgeously colored of all the world’s fishes. Their torpedo-shaped, streamlined bodies are built for speed and endurance. Their coloring—metallic blue on top and shimmering silver-white on the bottom—helps camouflage them from above and below. And their voracious appetite and varied diet pushes their average size to a whopping 2 meters in length and 250 kilogram, although much larger specimens are not uncommon.

Unfortunately for the species however, bluefin meat also happens to be regarded as surpassingly delicious, particularly among sashimi eaters, and overfishing throughout their range has driven their numbers to critically low levels.

Atlantic bluefins are warm-blooded, a rare trait among fish, and are comfortable in the cold waters off Newfoundland and Iceland, as well as the tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, where they go each year to spawn. They are among the most ambitiously migratory of all fish, and some tagged specimens have been tracked swimming from North American to European waters several times a year.

They are prized among sport fishers for their fight and speed, shooting through the water with their powerful, crescent-shaped tails up to 70 kilometers per hour. They can retract their dorsal and pectoral fins into slots to reduce drag. And some scientists think the series of “finlets” on their tails may even serve to reduce water turbulence.

Bluefins attain their enormous size by gorging themselves almost constantly on smaller fish, crustaceans, squid, and eels. They will also filter-feed on zooplankton and other small organisms and have even been observed eating kelp. The largest tuna ever recorded was an Atlantic bluefin caught off Nova Scotia that weighed 679 kilograms.

Bluefin tuna have been eaten by humans for centuries. However, in the 1970s, demand and prices for large bluefins soared worldwide, particularly in Japan, and commercial fishing operations found new ways to find and catch these sleek giants. As a result, bluefin stocks, especially of large, breeding-age fish, have plummeted, and international conservation efforts have led to curbs on commercial takes. Nevertheless, at least one group says illegal fishing in Europe has pushed the Atlantic bluefin populations there to the brink of extinction.

Facts about Fusiliers

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Fusilier
These streamlined blue and yellow fish are found around coral reefs where they feed on zooplankton.

Statistics
They are approximately 40cm in length.

Physical Description
This silvery-blue fish has a fusiform, streamlined body, long dorsal fin and a forked tail. Some species have yellow or pink markings. All have small eyes and a tiny, distensible mouth. Closely related to snappers.

Distribution
They are found in Indian and West Pacific oceans. Around the Gili Islands you will find them at Sharkpoint, Halik, Soraya, Deep Turbo etc.

Habitat
They inhabit coastal areas, mainly near coral reefs.

Diet
Unlike their predatory relatives, the snappers, fusiliers are plantivores. They form large, mid-water feeding schools.

Behaviour
These schooling fish are often found around cleaning stations or along reef slopes. At night they shelter within the reef.

Testimonials: Marco, Padi Open Water Scuba Instructor May 2013

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I really enjoyed my IDC with Camille. His relaxed attitude and patience made it very easy.

Also his experience and knowledge about diving and the dive- industry will not only make you easily pass the IE but prepare you for your further career as a PADI- dive instructor.

Great experience and great fun.

Marco van Duren, The Netherlands, OWSI, April 2013, Gili Air, Indonesia