Giant Herring Of The Deep
Posted on 21 June 2010 by LynThomas in sports
A Giant Herring measuring 3.5 metres was discovered off Sweden’s western coast, the first such fish found in Scandinavian waters in more than 130 years.
The Regalecus glesne, known as the King of Herrings or Giant Oarfish, was found dead in the small fishing village of Bovallstrand, on Sweden’s west
Giant Herring
“Down at the water, there was something big floating. At first we thought it was a big piece of plastic. But then we saw an eye. I went down to check and saw that it was this extremely strange fish,” said Kurt Ove Eriksson, the west coast resident who found the specimen floating near the shore.
The rarely seen regalecus, the world’s longest bony fish, can reach up to 12 metres.
“The last time we saw a King of Herrings in Sweden was in 1879,” said a spokesman for the House of the Sea museum in Lysekil, where the fish was taken to. “We don’t know much about the species, but believe it lives in deep waters, at least 1000 metres deep and many believe it’s at the origin of the sea serpent myth”, or stories of mythological sea creatures like the Loch Ness Monster.”
The dead fish, which was frozen at the museum, had a deep cut through its body and was missing its beautiful, typical back fin. The museum said the fish might be added to an exhibit on sea monsters planned later this year.
Giant Herring Catch
Giant herrings, a schooling species that lives in coastal and estuarine waters in the southern hemisphere, grow up to a couple of metres in length. Many are found in waters from Australia, to the Philippines and as far as Hawaii. The fish are commonly caught in lower estuary reaches, bays, harbours and inshore waters.
The Giant Herring is also known as the Banana Fish, Chiro, Hawaiian Ladyfish, Pincushion-fish, Torres Strait Herring, or Ten Pounder.
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