MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Epic long-distance toothfish swim
Scientists say that a fish normally found only in South Atlantic waters must have made an epic unprecedented journey of eight-thousand miles (nearly 13-thousand kilometres) when it was caught off the coast of Greenland. The furthest north that a Patagonian toothfish has previously been caught is in the Atlantic Ocean off Uruguay.
The Patagonian toothfish must have made its extraordinary swim at depths of up to 1,500 metres as it cannot tolerate temperatures warmer than eleven degrees Centigrade. It would have had to dive deep beneath tropical waters to reach Greenland. An expert at the Danish Zoological Museum of Copenhagen said:" This extraordinary catch indicates that large, cold-temperate fishes may occasionally migrate from sub-Antarctic to sub? Arctic waters by using deep, cold water".
The discovery supports a theory that cold water marine species can migrate from one pole to the other using currents in the ocean depths.
The species was already known to migrate over long distances ? up to 1,800 kilometres, as recorded by tracking.
Toothfish are a prize catch for boats fishing from the Falklands and various South American countries. It is regarded as an endangered species because of over-fishing.
It is sought after especially in restaurants in Japan and the United States, where it is often used for sushi. A single fish can fetch as much as 900 dollars, and fishermen often refer to it as "white gold".
Harold Briley, (MP) London
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