What happens to the vertical bars on a wahoo's sides immediately after the fish dies?
Answer
They fade rapidly
While the wahoo displays vibrant, dark, irregular vertical bars on its sides while alive, these markings are ephemeral. The striking coloration, including the iridescence and the vertical barring, undergoes a dramatic and quick loss of intensity upon the death of the fish, making identification more difficult for those not observing the specimen immediately after it is landed.
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