Can blobfish be eaten? A look at its food safety

The blobfish, also known as the sad fish, the soft and hidden spiny sculpin, and the bobfish, is called the "saddest-faced fish in the world" because of its mournful expression. It lives off the coast of Australia and Tasmania, at depths of up to 1200 m on the seafloor. Because its habitat is so hard to reach, it is rarely found by humans. Let's take a look below at whether the blobfish can be eaten!

Can blobfish be eaten?

The blobfish cannot be eaten. Its whole body is made up of a gelatinous substance with a density slightly lower than that of water, and these substances are harmful to the human body, so it is best not to eat it. Even if it could be eaten, we should not eat it in order to protect these rare animals. Although the blobfish itself is not suitable for eating, because it lives at the same ocean depths as more delicious marine creatures (such as crabs and lobsters), it becomes a casualty along with them. As fishing activities become increasingly frequent, it is often caught together with other fish and shrimp. It is reported that the blobfish will become the official mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society in the UK.

What food does the blobfish eat?

The blobfish has a tadpole-shaped body and a twisted, ugly face. It has no swim bladder, breathes using its gills, and has a gelatinous body with a density lower than seawater. It can grow to 30.5 cm, and it swims extremely slowly. At such a movement speed, a little food can take a very long time to digest. The lack of muscles is not a big problem for the blobfish, because it mainly survives by swallowing the edible substances in front of it, and blobfish generally are not picky eaters. Anything that swims past in front of it will be sucked into its mouth, such as microorganisms and small fragments in the sea.

Conservation measures for the blobfish

In order to protect endangered ugly animals, animal protection advocates in the UK came up with an idea and launched an "ugly" contest with the slogan "there is no ugliest, only uglier." When the results of this contest came out, the deep-sea odd fish, the blobfish, "won" the top spot. On September 13, 2013, according to UK media reports, more than 3000 people took part in an online vote for the world's ugliest animal held by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society in the UK, and the blobfish won the championship with 795 votes.

Simon Watt, chairman of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society in the UK and a TV presenter, launched this voting event on "YouTube," aiming to raise people's attention to those animals that are not cute enough but are on the brink of extinction. To this end, Watt and 11 celebrities and comedy stars filmed a promotional short film called "The World's Ugliest Animals," and the video has received hundreds of thousands of views.

Watt announced the final "ugliest animal" ranking at the "British Science Festival" held in Newcastle, and said the event "raised the profile of those creatures in nature that most challenge our sense of aesthetics." Watt said, "People all know the giant panda, the snow leopard, the tiger and the lion, and think those are what we care about. In fact, in the era we live in now, about 200 species tend toward extinction every day, and we must pay attention to other endangered animals."