Schooling bluefin tuna swim in an open-ocean pen off the Spanish coast, where they will be fattened up to satisfy human palates. Bluefins are some of the sea’s fastest fishes, reaching top speeds of some 43 miles (70 kilometers) an hour. But they’ve been unable to outrun fishing fleets, which have pushed some populations, like the Atlantic bluefin, toward the edge of extinction. Scientists warn that overharvesting continues unabated despite feeble international efforts at regulating the catch.
Humphead Wrasse
Large lips and a forehead hump are hallmarks of the reef-dwelling humphead wrasse, popular with divers and fishermen across much of the Indo-Pacific. Incredibly, some humphead wrasses are born as females but undergo sex changes around age nine and end their lives as males. These big (420-pound/190-kilogram) fish live long lives, more than 30 years, and probably never occurred in great densities.
Whale Shark
When it comes to feasting the whale shark is more whale than shark—this filter feeder simply opens its enormous mouth and swims to collect plankton and small fish. The ocean’s largest fish, whale sharks grow to lengths rivaling those of a typical school bus (40 feet/12 meters). The sharks are gentle giants, but their vulnerable populations are targeted by fisheries of Asian nations like Taiwan and the Philippines.
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