When everyone was away picking up the last three birds, Wendell made some odd vocalizations and there was a tremendous amount of thrashing in the water. When I looked down, he had brought up this huge, headless body of a Dissostichus mawsoni, or Antarctic Toothfish.
Here's Wendell with his fish.
Wendell must have caught and beheaded the fish below the ice, hence the thrashing that I heard. Wendell was justifiably proud of his fish. (I suspect that most human fishermen would be, too.) It was one of the largest Mawsoni I had ever seen. Paul and Cory dragged the body out of the water to look at it while Wendell was away.
Mawsoni are interesting fish. They possess a type of "antifreeze" in their blood that prevents their blood from freezing. (Remember that the sea ice is about -2 C, or below the freezing point of water.)
Wendell took his fish away by the next morning. I assume that he ate it.
