BENA, Minn. (Video from WCCO, WARNER BROS PICTURES, CNN via CNN) —

Drawing attention like a fish flopping around out of the water, a massive muskie near Lake Winnibigoshish in Cass County, Minnesota, has been reeling in the attention of tourists for more than 65 years.

But put down your tackle box and tuck away your dreams of casting out to catch the 65-foot monster.

"You're not going to catch this with a regular muskie lure? You're going to use a moose or a black bear for bait,” Al Hemme joked as he talked to WCCO. “And, you're going to need a truck with a winch on it to reel it in."

The muskellunge in question is not actually a fish. It’s a large structure — which is also a piece of art.

And it’s big.

In its earlier days, it was used as a drive-up food stop — selling ice cream out of a drive-up window on the side of the fishy structure, according to Hemme, who — along with his wife, Amy —owns the muskie. The fish is located on the property of the Big Fish Supper Club.

It was built in 1957 by Wayne Kumpula, according to WCCO, which reports that burgers and fries, which were cooked in the muskie's tail, were also sold inside the fish when it was a food stand.

The Hemmes haven’t always owned the muskie or the namesake business. They purchased the property, which also houses a resort, in 2010.

Prior to the Hemmes becoming the owners, the fish structure was on the verge of physically collapsing, but It was refurbished thanks to the help of an anonymous donor and others, according to WCCO.

The muskie become somewhat of a pop culture icon over the years — having even taken a bite out of Hollywood. An image of the fish structure appeared as a postcard in “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”

“There are so many people that watch that movie now, and they'll quickly take a picture of it and send it to our phones. 'Did you know?' 'Yes, we did know that,’” Amy Hemme said.

Decades after it was built, the giant work of art continues to draw tourists, movie buffs and selfie-takers to the supper club and resort.

"I love our place. I love our people. I love watching the kids grow through the years, and they become like family. It's very, very nice,” Amy Hemme said.

Those who may get a hankering to cast a line upon seeing the giant fish need not worry. According to the Big Fish Supper Club’s website, the giant fish is located “adjacent to one of Minnesota’s top walleye fishing lakes.”

Alzheimer’s disease is a complicated condition, and experts are still trying to figure out why some people develop it while others don’t. Now, a new study suggests that what you eat can play a role in your risk of developing Alzheimer’s — and two diets in particular may help lower your chances of developing the devastating disease.The study, which was published in the journal Neurology, examined the brains of more than 580 people who donated their body to Rush University’s Memory and Aging Project, which has been collecting annual dietary information and doing annual check-ups on study participants since 2004. The study analyzed data on the dietary habits of participants from 2014 through 2020 or 2021, and compared that with the number of plaques and tangles that were in each person’s brain during an autopsy.Plaques and tangles, in case you’re not familiar with them, are key markers of Alzheimer’s disease. In a person who has Alzheimer’s disease, beta-amyloid proteins clump together to form plaques that collect between neurons and interfere with cell function, according to the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Tangles are an accumulation of a protein called tau that collect inside neurons and interfere with communication between neurons, the NIA says.The researchers discovered that people who had eating patterns that closely followed the MIND or Mediterranean diets had almost 40% lower chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease than others.The researchers specifically found that green leafy vegetables were the most beneficial, with brain tissue from people who ate the most leafy greens looking nearly 19 years younger in terms of plaque buildup than those who only had one or less servings of leafy greens a week.The study raises a lot of questions about diet’s role in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as why these eating plans in particular may be helpful in lowering your risk. Here’s the deal.How can diet impact a person’s Alzheimer’s risk?There are a lot of potential factors that can influence your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, including genetics and aging, the NIA says. As for diet, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) says that it’s possible that what you eat may influence your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The NIH also points to the MIND and Mediterranean diets as being especially helpful in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.“We and others previously found that healthy diets are associated with reduced dementia risk and better cognitive function in an aging population,” says lead study author Puja Agarwal, Ph.D., an assistant professor of internal medicine at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. What the latest study shows is that diet may be directly related to the formation of plaques and tangles in the brain, Agarwal says.“The exact mechanism of how diet and plaques and tangles relate needs further investigation and we speculated that there might be other mechanisms through which diet may impact the risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” she says.And, at a basic level, you are what you eat, says Amit Sachdev, M.D., M.S., medical director in the Department of Neurology at Michigan State University. “Diet is a metric for overall wellness,” he says. “In general. healthy body means healthy brain.”Why might the MIND and Mediterranean diets lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s?Again, this is still being explored. However, there are some theories.“One of the proposed mechanisms is that both the MIND and the Mediterranean are plant-based diets rich in various essential nutrients and bioactive compounds that are required to maintain brain health,” Agarwal says. “They also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which may help prevent amyloid burden and neuronal loss.”Dr. Sachdev agrees that the diets’ anti-inflammatory properties may play a role. “Some diets are better at controlling body-wide inflammation,” he says. “Unfortunately, the typical starch-heavy American diet is not a great choice.” However, he says, the Mediterranean and MIND diets “balance styles of food and portion size in a way that reduces overall burden of body inflammation.”Dr. Sachdev also notes that the Mediterranean diet in particular is linked to blood vessel health. “When we think of Mediterranean diet, we think of the health of blood vessels in the brain and reducing strokes. There is strong evidence for this,” he says. Research has also found that blood vessel issues are linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.Mediterranean diet basicsThe Mediterranean diet is based on the lifestyles of people who live in the Mediterranean region, which includes Greece, Italy, and Spain, explains Jessica Cording, R.D., author of The Little Book of Game-Changers. It focuses on high intakes of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, grains, fish, seafood, extra virgin olive oil, and some red wine. The diet also encourages followers to limit red meat, Cording says.“The Mediterranean diet is designed to be a lifestyle,” Cording says, noting that people on the diet are also encouraged to be active. Research has linked the Mediterranean diet with good heart health, optimal blood sugar levels, and a lowered risk of dementia.MIND diet basicsThe MIND diet (which stands for Mediterranean–DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) is a form of the Mediterranean diet that focuses on plant-based foods linked to dementia prevention, according to the NIA. It specifically encourages people to eat from these food groups:Leafy green vegetables, at least six servings/weekOther vegetables, at least one serving/dayBerries, at least two servings/weekWhole grains, at least three servings/dayFish, one serving/weekPoultry, two servings/weekBeans, three servings/weekNuts, five servings/weekWine, one glass/dayOlive oil

Cruising at a depth of over 27,000 feet just above the seabed, a young snailfish has become the deepest fish ever filmed by scientists during a probe into the abyss of the northern Pacific Ocean.

Scientists from the University of Western Australia and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology released footage of the snailfish on Sunday filmed last September by sea robots in deep trenches off Japan.

Along with filming the deepest snailfish, the scientists physically caught two other specimens at 8,022 meters and set another record for the deepest catch.

Previously, the deepest snailfish ever spotted was at 7,703 meters in 2008, while scientists had never been able to collect fish from anywhere below 8,000 meters.

"What is significant is that it shows how far a particular type of fish will descend in the ocean," said marine biologist Alan Jamieson, founder of the Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre, who led the expedition.

Scientists are filming in the trenches off Japan as part of a 10-year study into the deepest fish populations in the world. Snailfish are members of the Liparidae family, and while most snailfish live in shallow water, others survive at some of the greatest depths ever recorded, Jamieson said.

During the two-month survey last year, three "landers" — automatic sea robots fitted with high-resolution cameras — were dropped into three trenches — the Japan, Izu-Ogasawara and Ryukyu trenches — at varying depths.

In the Izu-Ogasawara trench, footage showed the deepest snailfish hovering calmly alongside other crustaceans on the seabed.

Jamieson classified the fish as a juvenile and said younger deep-sea snailfish often stay as deep as possible to avoid being eaten by bigger predators that swim at shallower depths.

Another clip shot at between 7,500 and 8,200 meters in the same trench showed a colony of fish and crustaceans munching at bait tied to an undersea robot.

Images of the two captured snailfish — identified as Pseudoliparis belyaevi — provide a rare glimpse of the unique features that help the deep sea species survive the extreme environment.

They have tiny eyes, a translucent body, and their lack of swim bladder, which helps other fish float, works to their advantage, Jamieson said.

The professor said the Pacific Ocean is particularly conducive to vibrant activity due to its warm southern current, which encourages sea creatures to go deeper, while its abundant marine life provides a good source of food for bottom feeders.

Scientists would like to know more about creatures living at extreme depths, but the cost is the constraint, Jamieson said, adding that each lander alone costs them $200,000 to assemble and operate.

"The challenges are that technology has been expensive and scientists don't have a lot of money," he said.

It's a common annoyance that has only grown worse over the years — millions of Florida fishermen are in a constant battle with sharks destroying their catch.

"We also lose money in gear. We lose money in time, you know, hooks and lines. Everything costs money, so when a shark takes that from you, you lose everything," said Jeremy Prouty, a commercial and recreational fisherman.

Prouty is an avid angler who turned his passion into an award-winning career, becoming one of the best in the country. But lately, his livelihood has hit a snag. The prize catches that he's used to pulling in are getting taken off his hook.

"Where some places we used to fish, you literally can't fish there anymore because every desirable fish you hook, it's eaten by a shark," Prouty explained.

Researchers call it shark depredation.

It's become such a problem that scientists are now working to come up with some solutions.

Robert Fly Navarro

Professor Matthew Ajemian, an assistant research professor with Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, is leading the charge on the study, which is being sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

He said the cause remains unclear, but an increase in shark populations over the years could be the culprit.

"A lot of shark populations are showing some signs of recovery, which they have come back from being decimated decades ago thanks to great management and things like that," Ajemian said. "These populations are really starting to recover, and this might be one of the consequences of that."

For his study, he's teaming up with local captains and relying on DNA sampling to gain some insight.

"When the sharks are biting the fish, the mucus, the residue which has pieces of their DNA, gets left on the fish. It's basically a marker, and we try and collect that when we swab around the fish," Ajemian said.

Robert Fly Navarro

Ajemian is also looking to survey anglers across Florida every three months to help determine if the change in seasons is a factor.

"In the wintertime here, as you may know, a lot of sharks come here, just like snowbirds, and hang out here," he said. "So, we're thinking that there might be higher interactions that time of year, but it's not something we have ever done experimentally, and we really want to use the fisherman to help us try and diagnose this."

The study is expected to last for a year.

Once it's complete, Ajemian and his team will present their findings to NOAA.

In the meantime, they are also looking for more anglers to help collect samples, especially those living in Palm Beach and Martin counties.

To get involved, email Ajemian here.

This story was originally published by Kamrel Eppinger on Scripps station WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — For months, we’ve seen face masks in places they shouldn’t be: storm drains, streets, beaches, and parks.

Now, we’re learning just how many could be flooding our oceans.

“Once plastic enters the marine environment, it’s very difficult to move," said Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, director of research for OceansAsia.

The marine conservation group has been tracking the number of face masks washing up on a remote island south of Hong Kong since the pandemic started.

“About six weeks after COVID hit Hong Kong, so late February, we began finding masks, and lots of masks," said Bondaroff. “What’s remarkable is we weren’t finding face masks before COVID.”

Masks are made with polypropylene, which Bondaroff describes as thin fibers of plastic.

"The fact that we are starting to find masks that are breaking up indicates that this is a real problem, that microplastics are being produced by masks," he said.

These tiny pieces of plastic can remain in the ocean for hundreds of years, threatening fish and even polluting the air.

“The question that we couldn’t answer was how many are entering our oceans? We just didn’t know," said Dr. Bondaroff.

OceansAsia launched a study to find the answer and recently shared its findings.

Of the estimated 52 billion masks manufactured globally in 2020, it's believed 1.56 billion will enter our oceans this year, resulting in an additional 4,680 to 6,240 metric tonnes of marine plastic pollution

Bondaroff says the report used a conservative loss rate of 3 percent, and the average weight of 3 to 4 grams for a single-use polypropylene surgical face mask, to arrive at the estimate.

“The 1.56 billion face masks that have entered our oceans in 2020 are there for the long run. They will remain in the ocean for 450 years or more, and they’ll break into smaller pieces.”

The report notes global sales of face masks surged from around $800 million in 2019 to $166 billion in 2020.

“That’s important, we need to keep people safe, but at the same time that has a lasting impact on our environment, and we’re seeing that on the beaches," said Bondaroff.

And he says, unfortunately, this problem makes up only a small fraction of the plastic pollution invading our oceans.

The report asks people to wear reusable masks whenever possible, dispose of masks responsibly and reduce their overall consumption of single-use plastic. It also calls on governments to:

• Implement policies designed to encourage the use of reusable masks, such as releasing guidelines regarding the proper manufacture and use of reusable masks.
• Foster innovation and the development of sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic masks.
• Discourage littering by increasing fines, and educate the public about responsible ways to dispose of masks.
• Repair and improve waste management systems to reduce losses and spillage.

SUNSET BEACH, Ore. —

A large colorful fish washed ashore on the Oregon coast last week in what aquarium officials called a rare occurrence.

The 100-pound opah fish, also known as a moonfish, was discovered on Sunset Beach in Seaside, a city located in the northwest side of the state. The fish is "rare to the Oregon Coast," Seaside Aquarium said in a Facebook post along with several images of the three-and-a-half-foot-long fish.

Keith Chandler, the general manager of Seaside Aquarium, told CNN that an opah on the Oregon coast is "uncommon to find" and he also added that the fish was "in such great shape."

"They're pretty cool fish, and we don't normally see them on the shore," said Chandler. "It was pretty exciting for locals."

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), little is known about the species since they live deep in the ocean. The species is usually found in temperate and tropical waters.

The opah is an unusual-looking fish, according to NOAA, they have a round, flat body that's silvery gray in color.

"Toward the belly (of the fish), the silver shades to a rose red, dotted with white spots," reads NOAA's website. "Their fins and mouth are red, and their large eyes are encircled with gold."

Due to the condition the fish was found in, Chandler believes that it had only been on the beach for less than an hour before the aquarium's staff got a notification for it.

"Unfortunately, it washed up not living, but we got to it before the birds," he said.

The opah is being stored in a large freezer, Chandler said. The aquarium plans to work with a local organization, the Columbia River Maritime Museum, to dissect the fish. The aquarium added that one lucky school group will get the chance to be part of the dissection.

Chandler said the aquarium plans to "get all the data" possible from the dissection to learn more about the species.

California officials anticipate nearly all juvenile chinook salmon in the Sacramento River will die due to abnormally hot underwater conditions as heat waves continue to bake the West.

There will be a "near-complete loss" of the endangered species of salmon because temperatures above 100 degrees for extended periods of time are overheating the river, making it uninhabitable for the fish to grow beyond their egg stage, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.

"This persistent heat dome over the West Coast will likely result in earlier loss of ability to provide cool water and subsequently, it is possible that all in-river juveniles will not survive this season," CDFW said in a statement.

California, among other Western states including Oregon and Washington, has been experiencing extremely high temperatures in recent weeks. But drought conditions in the Golden State are especially taxing, with much of the state under severe or exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The drought is so bad in some parts of that state that a family's well in Clovis in Fresno County ran dry, leaving them without water, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, as temperatures near and surpass triple digits, many reservoirs in California's Central Valley have diverted more water to cities and farmers during the drought, making rivers shallower and too hot for the fish to develop from eggs, which can take at least 60 days to complete.

According to CDFW officials, water is more insulated when it is deep. However, since more water is heating up and evaporating, the salmon are losing their insulation blanket, which normally makes it colder at the bottom of the river. The eggs will die when the water temperature rises above 56 degrees Fahrenheit, officials said, warning only a few thousand of winter-run Chinook are left.

"It's an extreme set of cascading climate events pushing us into this crisis situation," said CDFW spokesman Jordan Traverso.

Efforts to save salmon are pricy

To combat the poor river conditions in the Central Valley, some fish preservation organizations have tried to save the salmon population by launching large scale trucking operations to transport millions of salmon to the San Pablo Bay, San Francisco Bay and other fish farms where they are more likely to survive, Traverso said.

While relocating salmon is an option, there are better alternatives than the high-priced trucking process, a spokesperson for the Golden State Salmon Association said.

John McManus, president of the association, said dam operators could hold on to more water to keep the fish alive, but that would require contracts to be modified between the operators and their federal and state partners who supply water to cities and farmers.

A warmer California recently prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to call on voluntarily reductions of water use by 15% to protect reserves and to help maintain critical flows for fish and other wildlife.

"We could lose salmon here in California if we continue with business as usual and the climate continues to warm," McManus said. "There's a very real possibility we could lose salmon forever here.