• Question: Do you like all types of fish?

    Asked by leeant to Christine, Edd, Jess, Nicolas, Zara on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Nicolas Biber

      Nicolas Biber answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      It depends what you mean by ‘like’ 🙂 I think we know about 30 000 fish species. Of course I like them all where they are, even the ones I don’t know (so most of them) and the ones that have not yet been discovered. I like all living beings, they make the world what it is to us (also living beings), and I think we should all make every possible effort to make sure they can remain where they are for future generations to enjoy.
      Now do I like all sorts of fish ON A PLATE? No, certainly not. But there are a few very tasty ones 😉 mackerel, angler-fish, trout, salmon …

    • Photo: Christine Switzer

      Christine Switzer answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I’m a vegetarian so I like all types of fish and hope they live a long and happy life. 🙂

    • Photo: Edward Codling

      Edward Codling answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      If you mean eating them, then no – I am vegetarian!

      However, if you mean studying them, then yes. In fact, I have been involved with lots of studies that try to determine how many fish (of lots of different species – from sharks to herrings to tuna to plaice and many many more) we have left in particular areas of the sea. We have to estimate this so that we know how many fish we can let fishermen catch without taking too many. However, many fish species are at very low levels and are overfished – this means some very common species like cod and tuna may soon go extinct! 🙁

      At the moment I am also studying the behaviour of fish. We have different types of coral reef fish and we are looking at how they behave as individuals or as groups in response to different signals such as food or noise. This will help us understand how they behave in their natural habitat and help us manage coral reefs better.

    • Photo: Jessica Chu

      Jessica Chu answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I find fish or sea life really interesting! I used to have pet goldfish!!
      I love watching those BBC documentary on nature and animals! It amaze me how they know where to go to breed, grow up and mate!
      Especially how some whales and dolphines can work as a team to catch loads of fish!!!

      But I think Edd and Zara are the fish experts here 🙂

    • Photo: Zara Gladman

      Zara Gladman answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      If you mean to eat, then I love a good fish supper… you can’t beat a yummy haddock with chips, especially if you’re at the seaside! Delicious. I’m hungry now…

      If you mean live fish, then the answer is also yes, although I like some fish species more than others. The mudskipper is my favourite species (check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KurTiX4FDuQ) it can breathe on land and is a bit odd to look at. I also love sharks – they’re pretty scary but fascinating. I went snorkelling over coral reef and was amazed by all the beautiful tropical fish (I even saw the clown fish from ‘finding nemo’).

      In the UK, we have some cool fish species too… salmon and sea trout live out at sea but also spend time in our rivers where they breed. Eels are also common, and feed on crayfish! My supervisor is an expert on powan, a very endangered fish that lives in Loch Lomond. We have sharks here too – basking sharks (which are enormous! up to 12 metres!) are common in British waters.

      Do you have a favourite type of fish?

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