CATCH OF THE WEEK: World Record Canary Rockfish!Christmas came early for Mendocino fisherman Brendan Walsh, who hauled in a potential world record canary rockfish weighing a whopping 10.25 pounds! The average canary rockfish is only 2-5 pounds, making this catch truly exceptional. Walsh was about to call it a day as the weather turned, but one last cast landed him this fish of a lifetime. He told reporters, "Normally those fish don't get that big... it was pretty shocking." He's now waiting for official confirmation on both state and world records. What a catch!
DEEP SEA MYSTERIES: Colossal Squid Filmed for the First Time!Get ready for a real-life sea monster story! For the first time in 100 years, a colossal squid has been spotted, and this time, it was caught on camera. An Ocean Census expedition led by Dr. Michelle Taylor from the University of Essex filmed a juvenile colossal squid, about 30cm long, at a depth of 600 meters in the south Atlantic. The team initially mistook it for a more common glass squid, but eagle-eyed viewers of the expedition's livestream pointed out the incredible find. These giants of the deep can grow up to 23 feet long and weigh over 1,100 pounds, making them the heaviest invertebrates on Earth. Dr. Taylor said, "We were just in awe, we couldn't believe it. This is a world exclusive."
WRECK & RELIC: Pristine 19th-Century Shipwreck Found in Lake OntarioA Canadian dive team searching for a known shipwreck stumbled upon an even greater treasure: a mysterious, perfectly preserved 19th-century schooner. Resting 300 feet below the surface of Lake Ontario, the ship has both of its masts still standing, a rare sight for a wreck of this age. The team, led by Heison Chak, believes the ship could date back to the early 1800s due to its rope rigging and early-style windlass. "The joy was just overwhelming," Chak said. This incredible time capsule could offer new insights into shipbuilding from that era.
SCIENCE CORNER: NASA Satellite Unveils the Ocean FloorWe can now see the ocean floor like never before, thanks to NASA's new SWOT satellite. This incredible piece of technology has created the most detailed map of the seafloor ever, revealing underwater mountains and ridges with twice the detail of previous maps. The satellite, a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency, can detect tiny changes in the sea surface height caused by the gravitational pull of underwater features. This is a huge leap forward for ocean science, helping with everything from navigation to understanding deep-sea ecosystems. Geoscientist David Sandwell says, "This satellite is a huge jump in our ability to map the seafloor."
Sources:
- Canary Rockfish: ABC7 News
- Colossal Squid: BBC News
- Shipwreck: Smithsonian Magazine
- NASA Satellite: Mashable
