Ah, I see. You’re right. Both are cooked fish after all. 
Not sure about gravlax…^^; (does that count as cooking?)
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Beats me. I just eat the fish for the most part 
I don’t like cooking
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I wasn’t planning on posting anything more from The Fish Locker, but this video shows John going for a free dive on a stunning morning and grabbing fish with his hands, because why not! 
(who needs tools when you have hands ¯\ _(ツ) _/¯)
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There are some stunning fish in the oceans, but fish aren’t the only thing to look for in the sea. Sea anemones (磯巾着 or いそぎんちゃく) look like flowers but are predatory animals, snaring passing by fish with their stinging tentacles, drawing the food into their central mouth.
Some fish have developed immunity to the sting and live in a symbiotic relationship with the anemone, which becomes their home, for example clownfish (熊の実 or くまのみ). But also shrimp and crabs can form this type of relationship with an anemone.
Black Ice Ocellaris Clownfish living in a pink anemone [Ocellaris clownfish=隠熊之実 or かくれくまのみ]
Magnificent Sea anemone or Ritteri anemone
White-spotted rose anemone
Corkscrew anemone or ringed anemone and cleaner shrimps
Nexus burst bubble tip anemone
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I’m not a fan of snakes (蛇 or へび) per se, but I do find it interesting that they have developed to live both on land and in the sea.
Sea snakes (海蛇 うみへび) tend to have a paddle like tail end to allow for better movement in water. Several species can hold their breath from 2-3 hours when feeling endangered (and thus avoid going up to the surface for air). Also, nearly all species of sea snakes don’t lay eggs after mating, but rather the young grow in their mothers’ wombs until they are ready to be delivered.
Source: 10 Amazing Facts About Sea Snake Which You Must Know
Here are some pretty cool sea serpents! ^>^
Belcher’s sea snake (ベルチャーウミヘビ) - this one is extremely poisonous, but is actually quite good-natured. You’ll have to really provoke it for it to bite you (which you shouldn’t be doing! 
)
Olive sea snake or golden sea snake
Yellow-bellied sea snake (背黒海蛇 or せぐろうみへび)
Going at it… 
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I do love seahorses. 
Like @Houndstooth mentioned before, they have a rather rude Japanese name!
Some are spectacularly camouflaged like the leafy seadragon.
The weedy seadragon is similarly camouflaged.
Not to mention the pygmy seahorse. It was discovered very late due to it’s small size paired with excellent camouflage.
But, I also love that it’s the males that get pregnant. I found this video of a male seahorse giving birth. It’s amazing if you ask me! ^>^
Male seahorse giving birth!
Anyone curious about seahorses can also read more here! 
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The animals themselves are obviously pretty unique, and yes, being dragon bastards only adds to the cool-factor 
What a shame then, that these -arguably craziest- examples of their species have such bland names in Japanese! “Leafy seadragon” is just … リーフィーシードラゴン ? Pygmy sea horse = ピグミーシーホース ? sigh .At least the ‘thorny one’ is called イバラタツ。
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ネコザメ- Bullhead shark
I just love the literal name of cat shark for these cuties. They are bottom feeders and their mouths are completely in front of their eyes, which is apparently rare for sharks.
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Less cute, but also 
+ 
catfish are called 鯰 or なまず in Japanese. Some can get HUGE!
Tiger Shovelnose Catfish タイガーショベルノーズキャットフィッシュ
I wonder what this fella is smiling about! 
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Did you know there’s a giant catfish underneath the Japanese isles that causes earthquakes (in JP folklore)?
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Well, now I know! ^>^ I guess there had to be some kind of reason for the story of Monster Hunter Tri! (it resonates well then with the people in Japan I bet!)
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A very kind coworker visited an aquarium and gave me a cute gacchapon shark!!!
It’s a ドタブカ or Dusky Shark in English. I wasn’t personally familiar with them before, so I’m very excited to learn about this shark! They are wonderfully big sharks, getting up to 4.2m (14ft) in length. They are nomads that go to the poles in the summer and the equator in winter. They like to swim 10-80m below the ocean surface but have been seen as far as 400m below! Dusty Sharks give live birth after almost 2 years of gestation. They only mature after about 20 years and sadly only live for 40-50 years. Due to their slow maturation and being hunted, they are listed as endangered.
Here is the info that came with the gacchapon ：
メジロザメ科に属するサメの１種。日本海に生息する大型のサメを展示する当館では代表種となるサメです。
My understanding is that this is mostly talking about the classification of Dusky Sharks.
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This is a really cool shark species. I had no idea sharks could get that old. Makes me wonder about the age of whale sharks (bigger seems to suggest older, but I dunno) 
. Thanks for all the info! ^>^ 
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We’re getting closer to Halloween and with that comes fun and scary stuff. 
So, here’s a small “best of” some truly frightening sea creatures! (I might bring more later! ^>^). Enjoy!
Source for some of these: 15 Terrifying Things In The Ocean, Because 'Jaws' Has Nothing On These Scary Sea Creatures
Gulper eel 風船鰻 or ふうせんうなぎ
Frilled shark 羅鱶 or らぶか , also フリルドシャーク
Barreleye デメニギス The head of the fish is transparent and the eyes are situated inside it! It can look backwards that way.
Black Swallower 鬼坊主鱚 or おにぼうずぎす
Giant isopod ダイオウグソクムシ
Giant isopods vs Doritos @TrinityBringer
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yikes! i felt slightly better after reading that they’re only 25cm
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<3<3<3
I hear giant isopods are great pets! ^>^ 
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This has me wondering whether I got a silly gacchapon of an isopod or a rolly polly now…
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Well, land bugs are more popular in Japan (for kids), I guess! Makes me think of Animal Crossing and catching pill bugs! ^>^
Not to mention, Endless Ocean 2 where you can find Giant Isopods! ^>^
(and if you bring the young girl to dive with you, she’ll talk about how CUTE! <3<3<3 they are! lol )
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