Fearsome Fighting Fish With Green Bones

On a recent fishing trip off North Stradbroke Island our quarry was the monster flathead that we have caught there before. We did catch an enormous five kilo flathead but that was not the highlight of the day. I hooked a powerful fish and as I reeled it in we saw a long silver streak leap from the water.
Again and again it leapt like a gamefish but we had no idea what it was. We found it had a fearsome set of teeth that demanded respect, as we cautiously removed the hooks. I thought it might be some kind of gigantic garfish on steroids. I had never heard of a Longtom until I got it home and researched it.

There are 18 varieties of Longtom (Belonidae undifferentiated) in Australia including the barred Longtom, blackfinned Longtom, crocodile Longtom, flat tail Longtom, freshwater Longtom, reef Longtom, slender Longtom and stout Longtom.
They are all long, slender fish that can skip over the water for long distances. They belong to the same family as garfish and flying fish and some can reach 3 kilos and almost two metres in length. The specimen depicted was 70 centimetres long and weighed 700 grams.

Inhabiting northern coastal waters throughout Australia, Long-Toms feed on anchovies, sprats, herrings, hardiheads and prawns. This example was caught on a triple gang hook baited with a whole pilchard but they will also take squid.
They are fearless predators equipped with razor sharp teeth and will reputedly attack wading anglers when disturbed. At night, a light on the water apparently attracts schooling Longtom so much that they leap at it. Islander anecdotes tell of them leaping into lighted canoes with such force that their bills became embedded in the woodwork.

There is no closed season for Long Tom but they are only available to recreational fishermen as there is no commercial fishing of this species. It would be difficult to market these fish as they have green bones.

Although the ribcage extends almost the entire length of the body I was able to get two boneless fillets with a bit of adroit knife work. The delicate tasting flesh was pale and fine grained with a pronounced bloodline running down the middle.

Source-http://www.rawfish.com/

The 15 most toxic places to live

The 15 most toxic places to live-Citarum River, Indonesia

The Citarum has been called the world's most polluted river. Around five million people live in the river's basin, and most of them rely on its flow for their water supply.

CREDIT: EPA The 15 most toxic places to live-Chernobyl, Ukraine Chernobyl is the town in northern Ukraine home to the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. Once home to more than 14,000 residents, the town remains mostly uninhabited and unsafe today due to extensive radioactive contamination. The 15 most toxic places to live-Yamuna River, India The Yamuna is the largest tributary of the Ganges River. Where it flows through Delhi, it's estimated that 58 percent of the city's waste gets dumped straight into the river. Millions of Indians still rely on these murky, sewage-filled waters for washing, waste disposal and drinking water. CREDIT: AFP/Manan Vatsyayan The 15 most toxic places to live-La Oroya, Peru La Oroya is a soot-covered mining town in the Peruvian Andes. Ninety-nine percent of the children who live here have blood levels that exceed acceptable limits for lead poisoning, which can be directly attributed to an American-owned smelter that has been polluting the city since 1922. CREDIT: Lakerae/Flickr

The Most Impossible Places To Live on the Planet

The Most Impossible Places To Live on the Planet

Popular Mechanics wrote an article of the Most Dangerous Places To Live on the Planet. But I figured I could still take it one step further.

Mount Everest’s summit. It’s cold and lacking a comfortable level of breathable air.

The Ionosphere. Abundant cold, lack of oxygen, and bombardment by solar radiation all make living difficult. But if you survive long enough, Gravity will be sure to finish the job.

Chernobyl’s Sarcophagus. A buffet of radioactive particles would love to give you cancer, but you’ll die of acute radiation poisoning far sooner.

The Mariana Trench. The 36,000 feet of water would suffocate you, if it didn’t crush you first.

Kilauea Volcano, Hawai’i. Continuous lava flows since 1983 make it difficult to maintain your footing. Or your feet.

The Cretaceous Period. Tyrannosaurus Rex were not known for their hospitality.

World's Longest Married Couple (85 years)

World's Longest Married Couple (85 years)

Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher, of North Carolina, have been married for 85 years as of May 13, 2009. Zelmyra is 101 years old and Herbert turned 104 on June 10th, 2009. They have shared the same home in the Brownsville community of New Bern for 50 years. The two of them can still give their reasons for marrying on May 13, 1924