Probably not every person, even among those who are interested in biology, has heard of the Patagonian toothfish. This is a rather unusual representative of the inhabitants of the ocean. Relatively little is known about it, although this fish is common in almost the entire southern hemisphere of the Earth. Let's talk about it a little more.
Appearance
Outwardly, the fish differs little from other inhabitants of the ocean. The set is pretty standard. First of all, this is a set of fins well known to biologists - pectoral, anal, caudal and spinal.
But the dimensions are impressive. Under favorable conditions, toothfish may well live up to half a century and during this time grow up to two meters. Of course, the weight also corresponds to the length - up to half a centner.
But even with all this, the appearance may surprise an inexperienced biologist. As you can see in the photo, the Patagonian toothfish looks quite creepy, like most deep-sea inhabitants of the ocean.
Distribution area
This fish is found in many regions of the Southern Hemisphere. First of all, these are subantarctic and antarctic waters off the coastArgentina and Chile. In addition, it has been repeatedly caught near the Heard and Kerguelen Islands located in the southern Indian Ocean.
Lifestyle
This fish lives at a considerable depth - usually from 300 to 3000 meters! To survive here, you need to be really adapted to these harsh conditions. And toothfish really adapted.
For example, its meat contains a large amount of fat - about 30%, thanks to which the fish can withstand really low temperatures, in which most other marine life would not survive. Yes, the range from +2 to +11 degrees Celsius is considered comfortable. When the temperature rises, the fish simply die.
Like most deep-sea dwellers, the Patagonian toothfish is a predator. Moreover, it is not too picky in food - it eats almost any prey that is quite inferior to it in size. It feeds on fish, large invertebrates, squids, and does not miss the opportunity to feast on carrion.
But the underwater world is cruel. Few can boast of being at the top of the food chain. Therefore, the toothfish itself quite often becomes prey. True, he has only two serious opponents - the Weddell seal and the sperm whale. It was the first of them that made it very difficult to study this fish.
Research history
For the first time, toothfish was discovered back in 1888. It was then that the Albatross research vessel, which had departed from the coast of the United States, caught an unusual fish near Chile, which had a length of almosttwo meters. The fish, unknown to science, was placed in a barrel to show the world community. Alas, the barrel was washed away during a storm - the scientists were left with only photographs.
The next time we managed to catch a fish only in 1901. Moreover, they harpooned it in the Ross Sea along with the Weddell seal, which managed to gnaw its prey well, leaving it without a head - it was not possible to reliably identify the fish because of this.
Only more than half a century later, the polar explorers again caught the Ross toothfish in the same sea - and again together with the Weddell seal. However, this time the fish was not only not damaged, but also alive. Thanks to this, scientists have a great opportunity to closely study the toothfish and prove that it is a completely new fish, unknown to science.
How did he cross the equator?
As mentioned above, toothfish lives exclusively in the southern hemisphere of the Earth. He could not cross the equator, since here the temperature rises much higher than +11 degrees Celsius, and it is this indicator that is the maximum possible for this fish.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the case of the catch of Patagonian toothfish off the coast of Greenland caused a serious hype. The size of the fish turned out to be rather big - about 70 kilograms!
Experts from all over the world broke a lot of spears trying to understand how he got here. Different versions were lined up, ranging from caviar accidentally brought by birds to these regions and to the appearance of a new, previously not caught, variety.fish.
It took a long time to establish a method that allowed fish that cannot tolerate warm water to move from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere without harming themselves across the equator. The secret lies in the fact that toothfish is a deep-sea dweller. He is used to living at a depth of a kilometer or more. And the water here is practically not warmed up. This is what allowed the toothfish to cross the equator - he simply dived to great depths in one hemisphere, and surfaced in the other, thus not entering the warm layers of water.
Use in cooking
Unfortunately, Patagonian toothfish meat has been enjoyed by many gourmets in the world. And today, fish, the existence of which people did not know only a century and a half ago, is actively caught by special teams of fishermen, trawling the ocean at a depth of more than a kilometer. Yes, it is not always possible to catch a lot of fish. But its high cost fully justifies the investment of time and effort. Argentine fishermen earn between $30 million and $36 million a year selling valuable products, exporting them to the US and Japan.
Good chefs know how to cook Patagonian toothfish, and fish is considered the top delicacy in many expensive restaurants. Because of this, a small livestock is decreasing more and more. In some areas, toothfish has already ceased to occur. Unfortunately, the governments of all countries do not take this problem too seriously. Yes, and poaching is thriving - many are willing to risk paying a serious fine if even a few large fish can cover all costs and allow you to get a seriousprofit. It is possible that the day will come when this fish will disappear from the face of the Earth.
