here add these to the large size critter list
and others
reasons to stay out of the water..... :o
(http://i35.servimg.com/u/f35/13/55/53/83/68185210.gif)
Foot-long cannibal shrimp roaming the Gulf of Mexico? RYAN GORMAN
Friday, June 15, 2012
There's a new predator prowling the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic coastlines -- giant cannibal shrimp.
Asian Tiger shrimp that can grow to a foot long and weigh upwards of one pound are being sighted more frequently and experts are worried they will wipe out native shrimp populations.
"They are more aggressive shrimp than native shrimp and then tend to feed more actively," David Knott, who is a member of the South Atlantic Regional Panel's Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, told The Times-Picayune.
The black and white striped shrimp have begun to concern experts from North Carolina to Texas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"We can confirm there was nearly a tenfold jump in reports of Asian Tiger shrimp in 2011," USGS biologist Pam Fuller is quoted as saying on NOAA's website, ""And they are probably even more prevalent than reports suggest, because the more fisherman and other locals become accustomed to seeing them, the less likely they are to report them."
Fuller runs NOAA's nonindigenous aquatic species database. She is part of a team of people studying how the Tiger Shrimp's high growth and spawning rates will affect local ecosystems.
"The Asian Tiger shrimp represents yet another potential marine invader capable of altering fragile marine ecosystems," NOAA marine ecologist James Morris said on the agency's site.
The lobster-sized shrimp are edible, reports NOLA.com, there may even be a domestic market for them.
The monster shrimp eat almost anything in their path. They eat crustaceans, small crabs, shrimp, mollusks and oysters, reports The Times Picayune.
"In the bayou right here, they caught two of them," Kim Chauvin, owner of David Chauvin's Seafood, told NOLA.com, "it's not just in the gulf."
The tiger shrimp are believed to have broken free from a shrimp farm in the Caribbean Sea of the coast of the Dominican Republic during a hurricane in 2005 and rode currents to the gulf, according to The Times Picayune.
The giant shrimp are native to Asian and Australian coasts in the Pacific Ocean. They were first seen in American waters in 1988 off the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. They were not seen again until a fisherman caught one in the Mississippi Sound in 2006, reports NOAA.
NOAA asks anyone who sights a tiger shrimp to contact the USGS, freeze the catch and donate it to Fuller's study.
NOAA has not designated tiger shrimp an established species in U.S. waters yet, scientists are not sure whether currents are carrying them in or if they are actually breeding, reports the agency's site. Scientists are going to begin studying their DNA with the hope of determining their origin.
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-06-15/news/32258968_1_tiger-shrimp-noaa-native-shrimp
...............................................
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arKqAjIcRz4[/youtube]
.................................................
Largest ever Burmese python snake caught in Florida
The largest Burmese python ever found in Florida has been caught in the Everglades, scientists said on Tuesday, and it contained 87 eggs – also thought to be a record.
"This thing is monstrous, it's about a foot wide," Kenneth Krysko, the herpetology collection manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said of the 17-foot-7-inch (5.35-metre) creature.
Scientists at the University of Florida-based museum examined the 164.5-pound (74.5-kilogram) snake on Friday as part of a government research project into managing the pervasive effect of Burmese pythons in Florida.
The giant snakes – native to southeast Asia and first found in the Everglades in 1979 – prey on native birds, deer, bobcats, alligators and other large animals.
With no known natural predator, population estimates for the Burmese python in Florida range from the thousands to hundreds of thousands.
They were classed as an established species in 2000 and are a significant concern given their numbers, longevity and prolific ability to breed.
"It means these snakes are surviving a long time in the wild," Krysko said, noting the importance of finding such a large example of the species. "There's nothing stopping them and the native wildlife are in trouble."
A rapid surge in numbers has led to recent state laws prohibiting people from owning Burmese pythons as pets or transporting the snakes across state lines without a federal permit.
Florida also allows residents to hunt pythons in wildlife management areas during established seasons under a licensing system.
"They were here 25 years ago, but in very low numbers and it was difficult to find one because of their cryptic behaviour," Krysko said.
"Now, you can go out to the Everglades nearly any day of the week and find a Burmese python. We've found 14 in a single day."
Krysko said the stomach of the giant python contained bird feathers that researchers will be able to identify.
(http://i35.servimg.com/u/f35/13/55/53/83/python10.jpg)
"By learning what this animal has been eating and its reproductive status, it will hopefully give us insight into how to potentially manage other wild Burmese pythons in the future," he said.
Skip Snow, an Everglades National Park wildlife biologist, said analysis of the snake would aid efforts to stop the future spread of invasive species.
"There are not many records of how many eggs a large female snake carries in the wild," Snow said. "This shows they're a really reproductive animal, which aids in their invasiveness."
Following scientific investigation, the snake will be mounted for exhibition at the museum and then returned to be put on display at Everglades National Park.
Source: AFP
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9474255/Largest-ever-Burmese-python-snake-caught-in-Florida.html
..............................................
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Bf0WhvsNk[/youtube]
.................................................
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmU7etSYYqI[/youtube]
.............................................
oh and another problem..gm fish..holy macerel batman
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO97VnXAM84[/youtube]