What has often been the scourge of the longline fishery, the Lancetfish (Alepisaurus spp.), may in fact become a lucrative industry, potentially earning millions of dollars for fishing companies. An incident on a local longline vessel based out of Majuro (the capital of the the Marshall Island in the central Pacific Ocean) is set to change perceptions, and possibly target species, in the longline industry. The incident occurred during a recent two-week trip in Marshall Islands waters. The vessel, which had recently taken on-board a Taiwanese crew member to cook meals, had the shock of their lives when an evening meal served with a special oriental preparation of lancetfish, produced Viagra-like effects for the crew the next day. Apparently, the cook's intentions were honorable, but the effects, for some up to 12 hours, caused havoc with fishing operations throughout the following day. One crew member expressed concern, "... the setting and hauling operations were very delicate, with all those hooks flying around, you can imagine the crew were extremely wary not to get anything caught...". Another crew member perhaps best summed up the situation, "... at one stage, I wasn't sure whether we were on a longline or a pole-and-line vessel...".

A large American pharmaceutical company has been in discussions with the fishing company owning the vessel, to come to an agreement to purchase the rights to produce the extract of lancetfish. At this stage, there are few details on how the lancetfish was prepared, but it is understood that the dorsal spines are crushed to form a powder and then mixed with another critical part of the fish to form the Viagra-like substance. A spokesperson for the pharmaceutical company said that a commercial product, being organically-based, had a greater potential than Viagra on the market. Their marketing department was currently working frantically to produce an appropriate name for the product, but as the spokesperson said, "...you would have to think that the person who originally named the lancetfish, probably knew more than he or she let on at the time...". 

Lancetfish have been the incidental catch (or bycatch) of longline vessels in tropical and subtropical waters for many years. They are encountered in large numbers in the longline fishery, but until now, were considered completely useless commercially. Fishing vessels have considered them to be a pest since their catch has meant that a baited hook prepared for the more preferred, valuable tuna species (bigeye and yellowfin tuna) has been removed. This fish is very unusual in appearance, and at first sight, one could be forgiven for thinking it to be a throwback to some  prehistoric creature. It has a long, slender body with conspicuous long dorsal spines and large needle-like teeth. Most lancetfish taken in the longline fishery are less than 50cm, but a number of very large individuals have been reported.