New regulations were put into place yesterday that require stricter record keeping and observer programs onboard hagfishing boats. Hagfish have been dubbed as the most “disgusting” of all sea creatures and they seem to even be disgusted with themselves–knotting their bodies to rid themselves of their slime (see photo taken by NOAA of hafish at 280 meters).

When cod stocks off the East coast first showed signs of trouble in the 1980s, fishermen started to go after the spiny dogfish and monkfish. Predictably, dogfish and monkfish then also became overfished. Now fishermen are moving further down the marine food web, further offshore, and deeper down. In the early 1990s, the children of a generation of fishermen who could harpoon swordfish from their boats began pursuing the deep sea hagfish, also known as slime eels, for the Korean markets. Koreans first wanted the hagfish for hagfish leather products but they also eat hagfish at roadside stands, often followed by a shot of liquor (to cut the slime).

Though the big fish are gone, the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and tightening of regulations should ensure there is plenty of slime for the future…