WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE SEA AND IT SCARES ME!

It can be quite frightening to think how little we know about the ocean. It is said that we know more about space than we do about the sea, which is ridiculous considering we can go to the beach or have access to the sea in a blink of an eye. But knowing that we can never reach the bottom of the deepest ocean, even with the most Hi-Tech machines and inventions is something that personally, I find quite unsettling.

 It doesn't matter if you have these:

Or this!    

You still won't get to the bottom!
Who knows what is down there? What immense creatures roam the underworld of the ocean?  And how big and dangerous are they?
But moving on...

Being human we are by default blessed with the gift of being able to imagine. That is why there are hundreds and hundreds of myths, folklore, cultures that surround us. But sticking to the whole 'Deep Sea' theme, there is one myth that catches my eye....

THE CRACKEN
The Cracken is said to be the sea-monster that Poseidon created to destroy rival cities in Greek Mythology. If you're familiar with 'The Clash of The Titans' then you'll recognise this ugly creature! Its supposed to be a dangerous over-sized squid.
I've also heard rumours and stories that this Cracken Monster may be real. I repeat REAL.
Well, maybe not 100% real but 8 species of giant squid exist!
'Architeuthis' was caught on camera for the first time in 2005 by some Japanese fishermen

Yesssss I know it's in Japanese BUT look at the size of that thing!
If you're a fan of Kalamari then come join me on my quest to hunt down the BIGGEST squid and  COOK IT!

• Architeuthis can grow up to 13 metres long [but there are rumours that it can grow as large as 20 metres long]
• The only known predator of this humongous squid is the Sperm Whale.
  
• They can be found all over the world, Norway, Japan, Africa, Australia, The British Isles.
• And they probably taste AWESOME
  

Over and Out.

 

The Angler Fish - Lophius piscatorius

The Angler Fish is something that has fascinated me for a long time.
Not only is it vile in manner and appearance but it's just a massive fish that you don't see everyday.

I've been brought up in a very fish-orientated environment as my dad owns a fishing boat in Cyprus and it's one of his most loved hobbies.
I remember being 10 years old and going fishing with my dad at 5am when it was still dark. It was cold, windy and bloody miserable but I was taking it all in my stride. It was only when he pulled out a HUMONGOUS sea snake out of the sea that I decided to lock myself in the cabin downstairs for the next four hours freaking out.

The Angler Fish is a deep sea fish, so you won't come across it on holiday in Spain while you're paddling in the sea and unless you're a merman or mermaid or super-human and can swim over 3,000ft deep you will most likely never ever ever come across it. Ever. Which is probably a good thing. Have you seen what it looks like?

This hideous fish is the master of trickery. That dangly thing that you see? Well that's what it uses to munch on lots of little fish that fall straight into the trap. It is a light-producing organ which processes a chemical that emits a bluey-green light similar to that of a fire fly. I personally think that that's really harsh on the little fishies, but hey, that's life!
The Angler fish is possibly one of the ugliest fish in the world, and its nickname is 'The Common Black Devil'. Let's be honest it does look pretty evil, but this fish looks like it should be really really big when in fact most Anglers are only about 11-12cm long! If I remember correctly the Angler in Finding Nemo was pretty big:

Yep.
This carnivorous animal can swallow something that is twice as big as them whole! Why? The Angler has a big mouth. God help us all if it could speak. It would probably never shut up. Another interesting fact about this fish is that only female Anglers carry the organ which produces light.
This is the weird part though, the reason why males don't need this organ is this:

The male Angler has one main aim in it's miserable life and that is to find a female. When it finds this female, it attaches itself [with his teeth] to the female and physically FUSES himself to her. He loses his ability to see, and loses all other bits of him apart from his testes... Yes, balls. This is the only way the females can reproduce. The gross bit is that a female Angler Fish can have 6 males or MORE attached to her!

I think this fish wins the award for worlds slaggiest fish!

Tatiana Tsierkezou