Somewhat Worthless Fish Trivia
January 21, 2002
Every once in a while, everyone needs a heaping helping of good old fashioned (and utterly useless) fish factoids. Actually, I’m not sure why, but here it goes anyway:
PLEASE PULL OVER
The “fastest fish in the sea” distinction goes to the cosmopolitan sailfish, which has been clocked at speeds of up to 68 miles an hour in short bursts. When they’re not in hot pursuit of a meal, however, the “cosmo” usually cruises at about 5 to 10 mph.
GOT FISH?
Humans consume around 97 million tons of seafood per year globally and more than 200 million people around the world depend on fisheries for vital nutrition - and their livelihoods. Seems like keeping our waters clean and in good condition kinda makes sense from that standpoint, eh?
THE KING OF KINGS
If you have a name like “king salmon,” you had better be able to live up to it. Well, rest easy, king (”Chinook”) salmon are aptly named. The largest recorded sport-caught king weighed 97 pounds, 4 ounces and was taken on Alaska’s Kenai River back in the 1980’s and there was a 99-pounder caught and released on British Columbia’s Skeena River a couple years back that was never officially submitted as a world record. The biggest king caught in a commercial net? How about a whopping 126 pounds! I weighed the fillets off a 40-pounder one of my clients caught last fall on the Sacramento River and they were 13 pounds apiece. Can you imagine the steaks on a 126-pounder? Wow.
THE KING OF KITTIES
And speaking of big fish, got any idea how big the world’s largest catfish grow? Well, there are three species that can reach immense proportions, including the wels catfish of Eurasia and the Mekong catfish of Southeast Asia, which can grow to several hundred pounds. The undisputed champ, however, is the piraiba cat, which have been known to top out at 700 pounds in the Amazon! The current rod-and-reel record is 256 pounds. Now, that’s what I call a fish fry!
GARBAGE GUT
Okay, so humans may be the earth’s greatest consumers of junk food, but sharks can’t be all that far behind. A shark caught near Australia’s Sydney Harbor had in its stomach a half a ham, several legs of mutton, the hind quarter of a pig, the head and forelegs of a bulldog (with a rope tied around its neck), a large quantity of horse flesh, a piece of sacking and a ship’s scupper.
Another shark, caught at Bondi, Australia, had a gut filled with a grown spaniel (complete with collar), several sea birds, a bunch of fish, a porpoise’s skull and the spines of a porcupine. And here’s the one that’s really creepy: A shark caught in the Adriatic Sea produced three overcoats, a nylon raincoat and a car’s license plate.
NOT A SUPER-HOT FISHERY
If you’re planning a fishing outing for this weekend, I’m going to strongly suggest that you don’t fish for Paiute cutthroat trout, unless, of course, you’re a glutton for punishment. Why? Well, this brand of cutthroat is what the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service calls the “rarest trout in America.” These colorful little guys are native to only a 9-mile section of upper Silver King Creek, which flows into the Carson River south of Lake Tahoe. Currently, the cutthroat is listed as a federally threatened species… kinda makes steelhead fishing sound easy, doesn’t it?
YOU’VE HEARD OF SKUNKY BEER, BUT…
It seems that beer is getting awfully fishy. Or, at least the use of fish names by brewing companies is quite en vogue right now. For example, a brewery in New Jersey makes Flying Fish Ale, while Olympia, Washington’s Fish Brewing Company makes Fish Tale Ale. Of course, there’s also Dogfish Brewing Company on the East Coast and, closer to home, Rogue Brewing Company’s Coho Harvest Ale. Washington State is home to Chinook Ales and Ohio, of all places, is home to the Mad Crab Restaurant and Brewery, which makes Mad Crab Sturgeon Stout. So far, the beer names have kinda fit the areas in which they were made, but that one stumps me. How many crabs and sturgeon do they have in Ohio? Ah, never mind. Anyway, a discussion of beer and fish (what a great combination!) wouldn’t be complete without mentioning my favorite: Mad River Brewing Company’s Steelhead Pale Ale. Speaking of which, I think it’s time to end this post now and head for the fridge.
Comments
Got something to say?