Big fish always impressed people. The capture of a huge specimen caused a stir and was necessarily documented. Surely every angler’s photo of the largest fish that he caught, hang at home in a prominent place. But even the most incredible trophies of domestic fishermen will not be able to compete with giants from the deep sea.
The largest fish today is the whale shark, or Rhincodon typus. Standard specimens reach 10-12 meters in length, there is evidence of twenty-meter specimens that have met scientists. Despite the awesome scale, the whale shark does not pose a danger to humans and other marine inhabitants. She practically does not react to divers who touch her body.
Rhincodon typus feeds exclusively on krill and plankton, which is extracted from water using a special filtering apparatus. The maximum speed of the ocean giant does not exceed five kilometers per hour. The shark spends almost all of its time on the surface of the water. The downsizing of these peaceful ocean monsters is a serious problem. Despite the complete prohibition of fishing for whale sharks, the restoration of the population is very slow, and environmental scientists fear that because of poachers this species may even disappear from the face of the earth.
The heaviest bone representative of the ocean is moon fish (lat.Mola mola). The specimens reach three meters in length and weigh about one and a half tons, which is comparable to the severity of the Toyota Camry. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the most weighty specimen of the moon fish was caught in 1908 off the coast of Sydney. With a length of 4.26 meters, it reached 2235 kilograms in weight. The record holder lives in tropical and temperate oceanic latitudes. The geography of the "residence" of fish is quite wide: from the Indian Ocean to the islands of the Great Kuril Ridge. Often, moonfish can be seen off the coast of Canadian Newfoundland and Iceland. Mola mola was also noted for another world achievement, this time quantitative, because it was recognized as the most prolific fish. The female is able to spawn up to three hundred million eggs. Despite this, the total fish population is not very large.
However, the ocean is not the only place where large fish live. Of course, freshwater representatives of marine heavyweights are inferior to oceanic ones in size, but they are also able to impress a person. The largest fish caught in fresh water is the giant catfish from the Mekong, which in Cambodia was called the "king of fish." The catfish caught weighed 292 kilograms and was also listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
A giant freshwater ramp is capable of impressing anyone with its size. Some specimens reach almost 600 kilograms in weight. Unfortunately, it can be met less and less due to the reduction of habitats and uncontrolled capture. In Thailand, it is classified as an endangered species.
Very large fish are found in Russia. The “queen” of fresh water is the beluga. Its three-meter dimensions are due to longevity: beluga live for 100-115 years.
Quite often, from different parts of the world, there are reports of a new record. However, they are rarely actually confirmed. Large fish caught by fishing vessels are very surprising. And often, being impressed by what they saw, people decide that this is the largest fish that the world has ever seen.
