A Look Inside ‘Wet Markets,’ Where Experts Believe COVID-19 Originated

Published March 23, 2020 by Katherine Sullivan.

As the COVID-19 outbreak becomes a rapidly growing crisis in the U.S. and beyond, folks are arming themselves with necessities, including knowledge. The outbreak has caused us all to become more familiar with terms like “novel coronavirus,” “self-quarantine,” and—here’s a new one—“wet market.”

What is a wet market?

Experts believe that the novel coronavirus originated at the Huanan Seafood Market, a wet market in Wuhan, China. A wet market (sometimes referred to as a “wildlife market”) sells live and dead animals—including fish, birds, badgers, bats, pangolins (scaly anteaters), and turtles—for human consumption.

The term is pretty on point: These markets are wet. Water splashes over the sides of open tubs filled with live sea animals who will inevitably be killed, countertops and floors are streaked red with the insides of gutted fish and slaughtered animals’ blood, and turtles crawl over each other before their shells are cut off while they’re still alive:

It’s no wonder that a deadly virus flourished in such an environment. These markets—crammed full of stressed, likely terrified animals—are breeding grounds for diseases like COVID-19. But what about the live-animal markets that exist here in the U.S.—or any animal agriculture operation, really? What’s the difference between these chickens at a wet market in Taiwan and the ones at the more than 80 live-animal markets and slaughterhouses operating in New York City? How are the restaurants in Los Angeles that mutilate and serve live animals to customers any better than wet markets in Asia? Zoonotic viruses don’t originate exclusively in wet markets. The types of animals most commonly connected to viral outbreaks in humans are chickens and pigs. And the U.S. is home to countless farms where chickens are crammed together in small cages and pigs are packed in feces-ridden sheds as well as slaughterhouses where chickens and pigs are killed on floors soaked with blood, urine, and other bodily fluids. So while current events have many calling for an end to wet markets and the wildlife trade in Asia, it’s simply not enough.

To prevent pandemics like coronavirus, we must end the demand for animal flesh entirely.

It’s been widely speculated that bats (some of whom build friendships in ways similar to humans) sold for soup could be COVID-19’s origin point. But since previous influenza viruses have originated in chickens and pigs, we can’t blame bats or other wild animals for these outbreaks.

ZOONOTIC VIRUSES AREN’T A WET MARKET OR WILDLIFE-TRADE PROBLEM—THEY’RE A HUMAN PROBLEM. HUMANS’ ACTIONS TOWARD OTHER ANIMALS CREATED COVID-19, AND IT’S UP TO US TO SHAPE UP.

Deadly diseases like COVID-19 will keep breaking out until the world stops eating animals. If we were all vegan, COVID-19—along with SARS and MERS—likely wouldn’t exist. Plus, animals deserve better than this:

Just as we don’t want to become infected with or die of COVID-19, animals don’t want to suffer or be killed for food. Pigs, for example, just want to be left in peace to nurse their young, protect their friends, and relax in the sun (much like humans).

BIRD FLU, CORONAVIRUS, HEART DISEASE, SALMONELLA … WHEN WILL PEOPLE REALIZE THAT EATING ANIMALS KILLS IN SO MANY WAYS?

Yes, wet markets should be banned. But please, ban meat, eggs, and dairy from your plate—before the next deadly zoonotic disease hits.

Tapah Fish

Hii..did you know Tapah Fish?

The physical feature of Tapah fish is similar to Keli fish, the main difference between these two is the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin of Tapah fish is small, while the dorsal fin of Keli fish is huge and long.

Tapah fish is categorised as warm water fish. It feeds on animal baits. The female Tapah fish is able to grow quite rapidly, and its large body size is one of the features of female Tapah fish, which makes it very valuable in fish farming for its breeding value. Meanwhile, the male Tapah fish that is smaller in size is not valuable in fish farming.

The flesh of Tapah fish is highly appreciated due to its tender textures and scrumptiousness. Tapah fish likes to stay under muddy surface, feed on benthic organisms and planktons, and sometimes, it would feed on fragments of water plants

Kelah Sanctuary, "TAGAL" Sungai Moroli, Kampung Luanti Baru, Ranau

Hii welcome to kelah sanctuary to have foot massage reflexology here...

Location are at Sungai Moroli, Kampung Luanti Baru, Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia.

The Freak From The Deep: Long-nosed fish that lives 3,000 ft below the ocean!!

Hii everybody..

An extremely weird looking fish (o.,.o) was snagged recently in the frigid artic waters off northern Canada and after some confused speculation about what it even is, researchers have identified it as the super rare long-nosed chimaera fish.

The spooky, deep sea fish has a long nose, menacing mouth, and a venomous spine atop its gelatinous grey body and was caught near the northernmost province of Nunavut in Davis Straight.

Researchers, who at first believed the odd fish was the similarly freakish goblin shark, say the long-nosed chimaera likely makes its home at depths not often visited by humans.

American Shad - Heritage,Commercial,Valuable Fish

Recent captures of hatchery-reared, American shad juveniles indicate the species is being restored into the lower reaches of North Carolina’s Roanoke River. The American shad, a species related to the herring and native to the Atlantic coast from the St. Lawrence River to the tip of Florida, has been commercially valuable for its meat and roe since colonial times.

In connection with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnership program to help restore depleted populations of American shad along the Atlantic coast, the Service’s Edenton National Fish Hatchery, in Edenton, North Carolina, and North Carolina’s Watha State Fish Hatchery, reared and released approximately two million American shad fry into the Roanoke River last spring.

“American shad is part of our Nation’s heritage and is still important commercially and recreationally although its population has been in decline for several decades,”said Ronnie Smith, fisheries biologist with the Service’s Edenton National Fish Hatchery.
“The shad’s restoration will benefit Atlantic coastal communities and the life cycles of other fish species.”

“We are very satisfied to discover that our cooperative production and stocking efforts are contributing to the restoration effort this early in the Roanoke River American shad project,” said Jeff Evans, hatchery supervisor with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Watha Fish Hatchery. “We plan on continuing to improve our production and stocking proficiency of American shad fry to provide an optimal contribution to the restoration project.”

Species of shad and river herring once supported important commercial and recreational fisheries along the Atlantic coast, which included North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound fishery that in the mid-1840s had 15 large haul seine operations, employing approximately 1,000 workers. The major tributaries to the Albemarle Sound are the Roanoke River and Chowan River.

The Albemarle Sound’s most valuable fishery, American shad, was shipped to markets in Baltimore, Maryland, and marketed in Richmond, Petersburg, and Norfolk, Virginia. The shad’s oily flesh permitted it to be preserved with salt and hence, shipped without ice or refrigeration. The average landings of American shad and river herring from 1890 to 1970 were almost 11.9 million pounds per year.

During the past 75 years, however, Atlantic coastal American shad populations have steadily declined, and the catch totaled only 1.5 million pounds in 1992 and 1993. This long decline has been due to over fishing and habitat degradation in spawning areas. Historically, American shad spawned in virtually every accessible river and tributary along the coast, but dams and other impediments together with degradation of water quality have severely depleted suitable American shad spawning habitat.

The hatchery-produced shad were caught during a sampling of outward migrating juveniles in the lower Roanoke River by the Inland Fisheries Division of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The sampling began in August and was conducted weekly through November 2004 using electrofishing. Of the 228 juvenile American shad collected, state biologists reported that 10 had been marked with the antibiotic, oxytetracycline indicating that they were hatchery reared. Prior to their initial release from the hatchery, the fry were immersed in water containing a small amount of oxytetracycline, which leaves a telltale stain on the fish’s ear bone. In 2003, the first year in which American shad were stocked above John H. Kerr
Reservoir, outward migrating juveniles marked with oxytetracycline were also captured.

As both Edenton and Watha hatchery staffs continue to become more proficient in hormone-induced tank spawning of American shad, the emerging picture is that fry stocking will continue to increase shad populations in the future.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million- acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices, and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American Tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.

Physical Characteristics

The American shad, like the alewife (gaspereau), is a member of the herring family with the following characteristics:

• slender and silvery-coloured with a blue-green metallic hue on the back;
• has a black spot, similar to the alewife, located on the side, just behind the head - on the shad, this spot is followed by several smaller dark spots;
• the eye has an obvious eyelid;
• a row of scales known as scutes form a sharp "sawbelly" edge along the midline of the belly;
• there is no lateral line.
• American shad can grow to 76 cm (30 in) and weigh 6.8 kg (15 lb). However, adults found in Canadian rivers are usually 45-50 cm (18-20 in) long and weigh from 1.4-2.7 kg (3-6 lb).

Facts About Shad

• American shad can migrate up to 3,000 km in one season!
• The flesh of the American shad is very tasty. Did you know the scientific name for shad comes from the Saxon word "allis", an old name for the European shad, and the Latin sapidissima meaning "most delicious"?
• The French common name for this fish is alose savoureuse or "savoury shad".
• The world angling record for American shad weighed 5.1 kg (11.2 lb) and was caught in the Connecticut River, Massachusetts, in 1986.
• Scientific studies show that shad from all eastern U.S. rivers spend some time in the Bay of Fundy.

New Species Of Fish Discovered - Anglefish

A fish that would rather crawl into crevices than swim, and that may be able to see in the same way that humans do, could represent an entirely unknown family of fishes, says a University of Washington fish expert.The fish, sighted in Indonesian waters off Ambon Island, has tan- and peach-colored zebra-striping, and rippling folds of skin that obscure its fins, making it look like a glass sculpture that Dale Chihuly might have dreamed up. But far from being hard and brittle like glass, the bodies of these fist-sized fish are soft and pliable enough to slip and slide into narrow crevices of coral reefs. It's probably part of the reason that they've typically gone unnoticed - until now.



The individuals are undoubtedly anglerfishes, says Ted Pietsch, a UW professor of aquatic and fishery sciences who has published 150 scholarly articles and several books on anglerfishes and is the world's leading authority on them. In the last 50 years scientists have described only five new families of fishes and none of them were even remotely related to anglerfishes, Pietsch says.

Husband and wife Buck and Fitrie Randolph, with dive guide Toby Fadirsyair, found and photographed an individual Jan. 28 in Ambon harbor. A second adult has since been seen and two more -- small, and obviously juveniles -- were spotted March 26, off Ambon. One of the adults laid a mass of eggs, just spotted Tuesday.

The Randolphs are part-owners of Maluku Divers, a land-based dive facility in Ambon City. Toby Fadirsyair, who works for Maluku Divers, said he may have seen something similar 10 or 15 years ago but the coloring was different.

Reference books were consulted but nothing similar to the fish photographed in January was found. Seeking international fish experts eventually led them to Pietsch.

A Rare Fish Find

"As soon as I saw the photo I knew it had to be an anglerfish because of the leglike pectoral fins on its sides," Pietsch says. "Only anglerfishes have crooked, leglike structures that they use to walk or crawl along the seafloor or other surfaces."

Anglerfishes -- also called by names like frogfishes and toadfishes -- are found the world over and typically have lures growing from their foreheads that they wave or cause to wiggle in order to attract prey. Get too close to the lure and you're lunch.

The newly found individuals have no lures so they seek their prey differently, burrowing themselves into crevices and cracks of coral reefs in search of food.

"Several times I saw these fish work themselves through an opening that seemed much smaller than the fish, sometimes taking a minute or more to get all the way through," says David Hall, an underwater natural history photographer who was able to dive with Maluku Divers and take additional photos of the new find. "They must have pretty tough skin to keep from being scraped and cut, but there is no evidence of superficial injury or scars in my photographs."

With its unusual flattened face, the fish's eyes appear to be directed forward, something Pietsch says he's never seen in 40 years as an icthyologist, a scientist who studies the structure, classification and habits of fishes. Most fishes have eyes on either side of their head so that each eye sees something different. Only very few fishes have eyes whose radius of vision overlaps in front, providing binocular vision, a special attribute well developed in humans that provides the ability to accurately judge distance.

Randolph, a longtime diver, says the similar color pattern of the two adults surprises him because he typically sees variations in skin color between members of the same anglerfish species and has even seen individual anglerfish that change colors depending on the surroundings.

Whether the new fish represent a new family will entail DNA testing and a close examination of a specimen, says Pietsch, whose anglerfish work is currently funded by the National Science Foundation. Scientists have already described 18 different families of anglerfishes and this is probably a 19th, Pietsch says. Families are large groupings, for example, all dog species belong to the larger family that includes wolves, coyotes and, even, hyenas.

When only a single fish had been sighted, Randolph and Andy Shorten, co-owner of Maluku Divers, kept the find quiet to protect the animal. With more individuals being found, and having a better idea of where to look to find others, the two became comfortable enough to post images on the firm's Web site.

"Seeking out these fish is probably going to be like the Holy Grail of divers for a while," Shorten says. Indeed just do a Google search for "new frogfish Ambon" on the Internet and up pops a lot of dive sites carrying news of the find.

"I don't think it will turn out that there are a lot of these animals but all that scrutiny will help us find out for sure," Shorten says.

For example, 35 years ago nobody realized pygmy seahorses existed but once they were discovered and people understood where to look for them, they turned out to be widespread throughout the ocean.

The fish were seen in 15 feet of water. It's possible the fish could be found at other locations, Pietsch says. All other anglerfish families have ranges broader than a single island group and ocean conditions like those at Ambon are found at various places across Indo-Australian waters.

Habitats in Indo-Australian Waters

The fish were seen in 15 feet of water off Ambon Island. It's possible the fish could be found at other locations, Pietsch says. All other anglerfish families have ranges broader than a single island group and ocean conditions like those at Ambon are found at various places across Indo-Australian waters.

Andy Shorten said that although many divers will treat looking for the new anglerfish as a search for the Holy Grail, they don’t think that there are large numbers of the species. However, the more people looking, the more likely it is that more specimens will be found.

“For example, 35 years ago nobody realized pygmy seahorses existed but once they were discovered and people understood where to look for them, they turned out to be widespread throughout the ocean."

Malaysian Fresh Water Fish

Sebarau

(Hampala macrolepidota)

This is probably our liveliest sportfish! Weight for weight, I personally rank it as the hardest fighting freshwater fish in Malaysia! From the sudden thumping strike till the last seconds before it is landed, the sebarau just never gives up fighting the angler!

In comparing it to the fish of the temperate climates, I'd say its traits are similar to the rainbow trout. The sebarau readily takes artificial lures with its aggressive character. The habitat too is very similar.

It can be found in the larger streams, rivers, old mining ponds with streams running in, lakes and dams. They will lurk around structure in the flowing water. Using the eddies of fallen trees, branches and rocks to wait for passing prey. In still waters, the smaller sebarau can be found in and around shallow weedbeds. However the bigger sebarau will take up residence in deep waters. Areas with submerged tree trunks or fallen logs will produce sizable sebarau that sit in these deep waters.

Sebarau up to a kilo give great sport on light casting tackle. Bigger sebarau require heavier tackle especially in snaggy areas. A sebarau over 2 kilos would be regarded as a rewarding catch. Sebarau as big as 5-7 kilos have been caught.

Artificial lures like spoons, soft plastics, spinners, spinnerbaits and minnow profile plugs readily account for most of the sebarau caught. Flies like poppers, clouser minnow and deceivers will work for the fly fisherman