1/6/2024 0 Comments Squeed fish![]() Squid range in size from the small (15cm) Brachioteuthis to the enormous (4 metres) Mesonychoteuthis, which has large hooks as well as suckers on its arms and tentacles for capturing prey. Unfortunately, this long-line fishery is responsible for a high incidental mortality of albatrosses and petrels. Since 1990 the most important species of fish commercially has been the Patagonian toothfish ( Dissostichus eleginoides), which is taken on long lines set in around 1,000 metres at the shelf break. The mackerel icefish ( Champsocephalus gunnari) is important prey for Antarctic fur seals, and is the subject of a closely regulated commercial fishery.įish in the Southern Ocean have been or are subject to commercial exploitation. Oxygen is transported instead in solution in the blood plasma. These fish are the only group of vertebrates which have no red blood pigment (haemoglobin). The Antarctic fish fauna contains the unique vertebrate group the Channichthyidae or icefish (so called because of their pale colouration). In deeper waters there are also significant radiations of snail-fishes ( Liparidae) and eel-pouts ( Zoarcidae). Antarctic Nototheniid fish, living in close proximity to ice, have evolved a glycoprotein antifreeze in their body fluids to prevent freezing. The most striking radiation is that of the so-called Antarctic cods (not related to true cods), the Notothenioids, which dominate the continental shelves. The Antarctic fish fauna is unusual in being dominated by the radiation of small number of groups. They are major prey for higher predators, including whales and seals and seabirds. ![]() Fish and cephalopods (squid and octopus) in the Antarctic are important components of the benthic and pelagic marine ecosystems. ![]()
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