In Defense of Blobfish

by Townes K.L.

Blobfish are an endangered fish but you probably know them as the ugliest animal in the world. This doesn't make any sense because we love chinchillas because they are cute, but people hate blobfish because they were voted the ugliest animal in the world once. This shows us that we still discriminate because of looks. They are pink slimy creatures with a big frown; but in the water, they are gray with some tiny bumps and big fins. There are only 420 of them left, which is a big problem, and we need to stop them from dying. Blobfish are amazing creatures that don’t deserve to be hated this much. 

Blobfish have been dying because of a special type of fishing strategy using bottom-trawling nets. These nets are really big and the opening looks like a whale's mouth. These nets go down to the bottom of the ocean and destroy the blobfish’s habitat, which looks like a sandy place with lots of rocks so they can blend in. People do this when they are fishing and the people can catch a blobfish by mistake. But since they are not edible, the blobfish dies when they are out of water with the other caught fish. Most people also think the blobfish is ugly; but underwater, they actually look like normal fish. 

Blobfish also need a safe place to go. We can try to bring the blobfish to a preserve center and reproduce more of them. A preserve center is a safe building where the people that work there can study and reproduce a ton of animals. This can make the blobfish a nice home and a place to make even more of these awesome creatures. Blobfish also aren't like other fish. Normal fish are scaly but blobfish have loose, jello-like, weird skin. Also did you know that a blobfish's head is 40% of its body mass? Wow, that is a big head!

People from New Zealand found out about these amazing creatures in 2003 and were shocked to see such an odd looking creature, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Likely, you've seen a viral photo on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, or Twitter of this pink blob with a big frown and drool all over the place. This photo made people hate the animal and has made multiple memes. 

Although these creatures look like an 85 year old grandpa that ate too many strawberry macarons, we should still try to save the creature and make it no longer endangered. The goal is to have 7,000 by 2025. Save the blobfish!