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posted by hubie on Thursday May 26 2022, @10:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the how-I-wished-I-was-a-catfish dept.

https://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2022/05/21/why_are_catfish_in_sweden_living_as_long_as_humans_833078.html

Europe's Wels catfish has to be one of the most intriguing freshwater fish in the world. Individuals can grow to monstrous sizes, proven to measure as long as nine feet and weigh 400 pounds or more in rare circumstances. They've even been repeatedly seen beaching themselves to capture and consume pigeons dawdling on the shores of lakes and rivers. Now, a team of biologists based out of Linnaeus University in Sweden reports that catfish in the Nordic country are living 70 years or longer.

To determine the creatures' ages, the researchers captured, marked, and released 1,183 Wels catfish from lakes and rivers in southern Sweden between 2006 and 2020. Over that span, they recaptured 162 individuals, allowing them to estimate the catfish's growth rate. They then plugged this rate into an established statistical model specifically created to estimate length and age for fish.

"Our estimates suggest that individuals in [Sweden] with a length of around 100 cm were about 25 years old while a 150 cm long fish was about 40 years old, which is about four times older than in catfish from the core habitat in central Europe," they wrote.

The sizable disparity in lifespan almost certainly stems from Swedish fishes' comparatively sluggish growth rates, the researchers said. Animals that grow more quickly tend to live shorter than animals which grow more slowly. [...]

The researchers don't believe that Wels catfish in Sweden have less access to food compared to their mainlaind European counterparts, which could have explained the difference in growth rates. Rather, they think the difference is due to colder water temperatures.

Journal Reference:
Bergström, K., Nordahl, O., Söderling, P. et al. Exceptional longevity in northern peripheral populations of Wels catfish (Siluris glanis) [open]. Sci Rep 12, 8070 (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12165-w


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  • (Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @11:18PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @11:18PM (#1248161)

    Them swedskies need to stop viking around, stuffing their pie hole with rotten cods.

    Instead, catch them catfish and eat them - you fillet'em, coat'em in cornmeal batter, and deep-fry them in crisco. Since you've got a pot of boiling fat, make some hushpuppiies while you are at it. Catfish and hushpuppies, wash it down with coke. Or beer. Or vodca. You call.

    Ask your friendly cajun neighbors for tips and advices.

    And there, them catfish won't live so long no mo.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by looorg on Thursday May 26 2022, @11:47PM (5 children)

      by looorg (578) on Thursday May 26 2022, @11:47PM (#1248169)

      I don't recall anyone eating rotten cod. Fermented herring is an acquired taste and delicacy tho, or so they tell you after you stop heaving and/or vomiting from the stench. Teargas had/has a more pleasant smell and experience.
      With that in mind I just don't recall any or many eating catfish here; it's mostly cod and herring. Perhaps that is why they live so long, nobody wants to eat them. Not even sure if they would go into fish-sticks.

      • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @12:05AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @12:05AM (#1248171)

        Rotten herring, rotten cod, what, we splitting hairs here?

        Fucking nazis...

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @12:18AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @12:18AM (#1248174)

        Not even sure if they would go into fish-sticks.

        They don't. The flesh is too watery, not flakey like cods and pollocks.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @03:51AM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @03:51AM (#1248207)

        Probably talking about lutefisk [wikipedia.org]. It isn't rotten, it's pickled. It's... not delicious, but it's not terrible either, if prepared correctly.

        • (Score: 1) by pTamok on Friday May 27 2022, @08:16AM (1 child)

          by pTamok (3042) on Friday May 27 2022, @08:16AM (#1248239)

          Well, in the same way that cheese is rotten milk, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakfisk">råkfisk [soylentnews.org] is rotten* trout (or char can be used also), and one of many fermented fish products [wikipedia.org] found in the world's cuisine.

          Lutefisk isn't fermented. It is air-dried and treated with lye.

          *To be fair, the preservation process prevents ordinary rotting.

          • (Score: 2, Interesting) by pTamok on Friday May 27 2022, @09:06AM

            by pTamok (3042) on Friday May 27 2022, @09:06AM (#1248241)

            Sorry about the formatting and spelling mistake.

            Link is Rakfisk [wikipedia.org].

    • (Score: 1) by pTamok on Friday May 27 2022, @09:11AM

      by pTamok (3042) on Friday May 27 2022, @09:11AM (#1248242)

      Since you've got a pot of boiling fat, make some hushpuppiies while you are at it. Catfish and hushpuppies, wash it down with coke.

      Cajuns eat catfish with deep fried shoes [wikipedia.org]!?

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @11:32PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2022, @11:32PM (#1248166)

    I know they say it is a "standard model," and I'm sure a lot more people who are a lot more informed than me have weighed in. I'm still very hesitant to extrapolate from 15-years of data the 70-year implications of something.

    See also: mandatory XKCD [xkcd.com]. Alternatively, consider the Challenger shuttle disaster and what happened when people extrapolated the behavior of the O-rings outside of tested specs.

    • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @12:53AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @12:53AM (#1248186)

      a search for strapolate sent me to xxxvideo

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @01:06AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @01:06AM (#1248188)

        Yous make me sick.

        At least put out the link.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @03:53AM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @03:53AM (#1248208)

      Alternatively, consider the Challenger shuttle disaster and what happened when people extrapolated the behavior of the O-rings outside of tested specs.

      They said it would probably blow up, and it did. Management just decided not to believe them.

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by PiMuNu on Friday May 27 2022, @01:25PM (3 children)

        by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday May 27 2022, @01:25PM (#1248264)

        My recollection is that they said that it *probably* would not blow up. Management chose to interpret that as it *definitely* would not blow up.

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Friday May 27 2022, @02:11PM (2 children)

          by Freeman (732) on Friday May 27 2022, @02:11PM (#1248274) Journal

          They said both:

          Boisjoly wrote a memo in July 1985 to his superiors concerning the faulty design of the solid rocket boosters that, if left unaddressed, could lead to a catastrophic event during launch of a Space Shuttle. Such a catastrophic event occurred six months later resulting in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
          [...]
          Boisjoly's investigation showed that the amount of damage to the O-ring depended on the length of time it took for the ring to move out of its groove and make the seal, and that the amount of time depended on the temperature of the rings. Cold weather made the rubber hard and less flexible, meaning that extrusion took more time and more blow-by took place. He determined that if the O-rings were damaged enough they could fail.

          If the second O-ring had failed, the results would almost certainly have been catastrophic with an almost instantaneous explosion of gargantuan proportions, resulting the complete loss of the shuttle, the crew and the launch pad facilities seemingly the only outcome. His investigation found that the first O-ring failed because the low temperatures on the night before the flight had compromised the flexibility of the O-ring, reducing its ability to form a seal. The temperature at launch had been only 10 °C (50 °F), the coldest on record (until January 28, 1986). The first rubber O-ring had formed a partial seal, not a complete one; but the second O-ring had held.

          Boisjoly sent a memo describing the problem to his managers, but was apparently ignored.[8] Following several further memos, a task force was convened to investigate the matter, but after a month Boisjoly realized that the task force had no power, no resources, and no management support. In late 1985 Boisjoly advised his managers that if the problem was not fixed, there was a distinct chance that a shuttle mission would end in disaster. No action was taken.
          [...]
          Following the announcement that the Challenger mission was confirmed for January 28, 1986, Boisjoly and his colleagues tried to stop the flight. Temperatures were due to fall to −1 °C (30 °F) overnight. Boisjoly felt that this would severely compromise the safety of the O-ring and potentially the flight.

          The matter was discussed with Morton Thiokol managers, who agreed that the issue was serious enough to recommend delaying the flight. NASA protocols required all shuttle sub-contractors to sign off on each flight. During the go/no-go telephone conference with NASA management the night before the launch, Morton Thiokol notified NASA of their recommendation to postpone. NASA officials strongly questioned the recommendations, and asked (some say pressured) Morton Thiokol to reverse their decision.

          The Morton Thiokol managers asked for a few minutes off the phone to discuss their final position again. The management team held a meeting from which the engineering team, including Boisjoly and others, were deliberately excluded. The Morton Thiokol managers advised NASA that their data was inconclusive. NASA asked if there were objections. Hearing none, NASA decided to launch the STS-51-L Challenger mission.

          Historians have noted that this was the first time NASA had ever launched a mission after having received an explicit no-go recommendation from a major contractor, and that questioning the recommendation and asking for a reconsideration was highly unusual. Many have also noted that the sharp questioning of the no-go recommendation stands out in contrast to the immediate and unquestioning acceptance when the recommendation was changed to a go.

          --
          Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
          • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Friday May 27 2022, @02:15PM

            by Freeman (732) on Friday May 27 2022, @02:15PM (#1248275) Journal

            Forgot to include the wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Boisjoly [wikipedia.org]

            Interestingly enough, that detail is left to the page about the guy as opposed to the page on the Challenger Shuttle.

            --
            Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
          • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday May 27 2022, @03:58PM

            by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday May 27 2022, @03:58PM (#1248293)

            Thanks. Nice quotes.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Barenflimski on Friday May 27 2022, @01:08AM (1 child)

    by Barenflimski (6836) on Friday May 27 2022, @01:08AM (#1248190)

    Don't they have really good Health Care in Sweden?

    Maybe less anti-depressants in the water?

    Just spit-balling here.

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @02:07PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @02:07PM (#1248272)

      Could be viagra in the water but that would be hard to prove.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @10:47AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27 2022, @10:47AM (#1248244)

    ... don't you think?

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