Monster fish killed after terrorizing Swiss swimmers

GENEVA (AFP) – Police divers have ended the reign of terror of a huge fish that was attacking swimmers in a Swiss lake.

The zander, which was 70 centimetres (two feet three inches) long and weighed eight kilos (17.5 pounds), was harpooned on Sunday after it bit six swimmers over the weekend, fish warden Fabio Croci told local media.

Two swimmers were treated in hospital for bite wounds up to 10 centimetres (four inches) long after being attacked on Lac Majeur, which borders Italy, he added.

Police divers at first tried to capture the carnivorous fish with a net, but when this failed they pursued the zander with a harpoon and managed to kill it.

The meat from the captured fish was served up to tourists at the lake.
"It is quite unusual for zanders to bite humans", Croci said, adding he suspected the fish was suffering from a hormonal imbalance which could be responsible for its aggression.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090713/od_afp/switzerlandswimmerspoliceoffbeat_20090713163025

Matt’s Rant: This is one of those “fish fights back” stories that are funny and interesting to read. Typically I won’t burden the reader with this type of material but this article is post worthy in my opinion. "Zander"...I had no idea there even was such a fish.

More and more instances of hormonal imbalance are occurring in fish across the globe. I can’t say for sure if this “monster” fish is suffering from the same pharmaceutical poisoning that is happening in the US but I am leaning towards that conclusion. This is going to become a more serious problem as prescription drugs pass untreated into water supplies. Health departments are downplaying the severity even though biologists are greatly alarmed.

Did you know that in Maine and other areas of the east coast, male smallmouth are developing eggs? Other fish are going sterile and nearly every sample of fish is coming back with something. Remember when mercury poisoning was a big deal. That is nothing compared to what we will start seeing on a massive scale in 10 years.