Open Sea Fish

Anglerfish (Common)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:22:12 +0100

The Common Anglerfish has a large mouth and three long worm-like organs attached to its head. It can be found all around the coasts of England where it spends most of its time at the bottom of the sea in depths of two to five hundred metres. This fish is also called the Monkfish by fishmongers.

The Common Anglerfish can grow up to two metres in length and up to forty kilogrammes in weight. It is a flat-looking fish that resembles the shape of a large banjo. It has a large fan-like fin on either side of its body and a long tapering tail. The Anglerfish wriggles its worm-like organs on its head in all directions to make them look like worms so it can catch prey. This fish very rarely swims. It lies and hides under the sand on the seabed and waits patiently for prey to pass by.

The spawn of the Anglerfish is quite amazing because it looks like a transparent jelly-like sheet which is approximately sixty to ninety centimetres wide and around eight metres long. The eggs are enclosed individually in this sheet in a single layer and the gelatine sheet floats freely in the sea.

Cod

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:22:40 +0100

The Cod is one of our best-known offshore native fish. It is commonly associated with our traditional 'fish and chips'. There used be so many of these fish swimming in our waters, but now there are so few due to over fishing.

Despite the huge decrease of numbers, Cod are still very clever in camouflaging themselves. They can change the colour of their bodies depending where they live. Cod that live in shallow sandy water are a pale yellow colour and those that live around seaweed change to a dull green colour. Also Cod that spend a lot of time near rocks change to a rusty red colour and Cod that live in the deep sea are a pale grey colour.

The Cod has a head that looks over-large for its body size and it also looks like it has quite a large mouth because its top jaw overhangs its bottom jaw. It has a fleshy finger-looking organ hanging from its chin. This organ is called the ‘barbel’ and is used to search for food. Cod can eat an amazing amount of food and can weigh up to ninety kilogrammes. They like to eat small crustaceans called ‘copepods’ which are part of zooplankton.

Dogfish (Lesser Spotted)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:23:17 +0100

The Lesser Spotted Dogfish is also known as the Sandy Dogfish and the Small Spotted Catshark. It is an inshore fish that can be found in shallow waters. It is related to the Greater Spotted Dogfish and despite both of these fish having the name ‘dogfish’, they are related to the Catshark family.

The Lesser Spotted Dogfish is also called the ‘rough-hound’ fish because it has very rough skin. The skin is covered with thousands of fine teeth which have very sharp edges and point backwards. If you run your hand over this fish from head to tail, the skin would feel smooth, but if you rub your hand the other way, the skin would feel rough and very sharp and you would most probably cut your finger.

The Lesser Spotted Dogfish is quite a small fish. It is about one metre in length and weighs around three kilogrammes. The upper part of its body is a sandy grey-brown colour and the underside is a creamy white colour. This fish, like the Blue Skate, lays its eggs in pouches called ‘Mermaid Purses’. Mermaid Purses can often be found washed up on our beaches.

Eel (Conger)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:23:40 +0100

The Conger Eel is a long snake-like fish that has a smooth body with no scales, unlike the Lesser Sand Eel which has a scale-covered body. It is also called the European Conger Eel and can be found in the seas off the south and south-west coasts of England. Younger Conger Eels tend to live nearer the coast line, whereby adult Conger Eels move towards deeper waters where they often like to inhabit ship wrecks.

The Conger Eel is usually two metres long, although it can reach a length of up to three metres. It weighs on average around fifty kilogrammes. It is a slow-growing fish that can take up to fifteen years to reach adulthood. Conger Eels in and around sandy seabeds are usually a light grey colour and those that live on rocky seabeds tend to be more charcoal-grey.

Young Conger Eels are called ‘straps’. Straps do most of their feeding at night, while older Conger Eels that live in deep water feed any time of the day or night. These eels travel amazing distances to spawn. They migrate to the Sargasso Sea to spawn in waters as deep as four thousand metres. Conger Eels die shortly after they have spawned.

Eel (Lesser Sand)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:24:06 +0100

The Lesser Sand Eel is also known as the Sand Lance and can be found all around England in our coastal waters. It is not a true eel like its name suggests because it has a body that is covered in scales. True eels, like the Conger Eel, have smooth scaleless bodies.

The Lesser Sand Eel is a thin-looking fish with a pointed jaw and a forked tail fin. It can reach approximately twenty centimetres in length. It has a yellow-green back which has a bluish tint to it. The lower sides and belly are a silver colour which first gives this fish the impression that it is silver all over. The scales on the underside are ‘V’ shaped and they all face in one direction.

Lesser Sand Eels swim in dense shoals near to the sand seabed and they particularly like areas that contain weed covered rocks because the eels shelter behind them when the sea currents are very strong. When Lesser Sand Eels feel in danger, they suddenly dart into the sand where they completely disappear from view. It is an amazing sight to see because they can do it so quickly. Lesser Sand Eels can also bury themselves twenty to fifty centimetres deep under the sand in winter to keep warm.

Herring (Atlantic)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:24:37 +0100

Atlantic Herrings are also called ‘Silver Darlings’ by fishermen because of their distinct silver colour and because they were once an important source of protein to a person’s diet. They are very common in our coastal waters and are an important commercial food fish.

The Atlantic Herring is a small slim-looking fish with a length of around four to six centimetres. Although it is generally a silver colour, it still has a deep blue-green sheen to it and its back is darker than the rest of its body. Its lower jaw extends it upper jaw and it has large black eyes. This fish can also be recognised by its deep blue forked tail.

When Atlantic Herrings first hatch out of their eggs, they are tiny and tend to float on the surface of the water rather than swim. Within three months they start to look like miniature adults and join young fish such as sprats and pilchards to form larger shoals. These very young mixed shoal fish are often known as ‘white bait’. Atlantic Herrings develop into adulthood within two years and then they join older Atlantic Herrings in established shoals. These herring shoals can be very large and often swim close to the surface of the water making them an easy catch for fishermen.

Lamprey (Sea)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:25:19 +0100

The Sea Lamprey is an eel-like fish that can survive in both freshwater and saltwater, although an adult spends most of its life at sea. It is also known as a ‘stone sucker’ because it sometimes removes stones with its mouth when it wants to make a hollow space in the river bed. It can be found in many fast-flowing deep rivers in England, especially where there is gravel or sand.

The Sea Lamprey is a primitive fish that has no jaws and a circular sucking mouth. It can grow up to metre in length and its upper body is either black or brown with darker mottling. The underside is yellow. It has two fins on its back which are called ‘dorsal’ fins. These fins help the Sea Lamprey to keep balance in the water. It has large reddish coloured eyes and circular rows of sharp hook-like teeth.

The Sea Lamprey is ‘parasitic’ which means it feeds and lives off another animal causing it harm and even death. This eel-like fish uses it round-shaped mouth and sharp teeth to attach itself onto fish such as trout and salmon and then sucks the blood and body fluids out of the fish. The Sea Lamprey can stay attached to a fish for hours, days and even weeks until the fish dies.

Mackerel (Atlantic)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:25:42 +0100

The Atlantic Mackerel is often just known as the Mackerel and is related to the Tuna fish. Atlantic Mackerel swim in large groups called shoals and can mainly be seen in offshore waters around our coasts. They swim very fast together and often swim close to the surface.

The Atlantic Mackerel is a striking-looking fish that is torpedo-shaped. It has a grey-blue upper body with lots of irregular zigzag stripes on it. The underbelly is silver with tinges of gold and pink. It is a medium-sized fish that can grow up to seventy centimetres in length. It has two black eyes and behind each eye there is a small yellow patch. The Atlantic Mackerel has two fins on its back which are widely spaced apart. It has small scales over its body and its skin feels quite velvety.

Young Atlantic Mackerel mainly feed on small crustaceans called ‘copepods’ which are part of zooplankton. Older Mackerel eat fish, squid and shrimp. Antlantic Mackerel can live up to seventeen years, but nowadays they very rarely reach old age because they are often caught in large numbers. They are now very popular commercial food fish.

Pilchard (European)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:26:02 +0100

The European Pilchard is a fish that is only called a ‘pilchard’ after its first year when it has reached adulthood and before that it is actually called a ‘sardine’. It can be found in the open sea near the south and south-west coast of England, particularly around Cornwall.

The European Pilchard is a small slim fish that can grow around thirty-five centimetres long. It has a small smooth-looking fin on its back which is known as the ‘dorsal’ fin. It also has a forked tail fin. Its body is mainly a blue-silver colour with a blue-green upper part. European Pilchards swim close to the surface of the water in large groups called ‘schools’.

The word ‘sardine’ can also be used to describe about twenty types of shoal fish, like pilchards, herrings and sprats. These fish look very similar in appearance and size and swim together in mixed shoals. When these shoals are caught, they are processed as food altogether and put into tins under the well-known name ‘sardines’.

Ray (Thornback)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:26:53 +0100

The Thornback Ray is England’s most common native ray and is sometimes called the Roker. It is found in shallow waters all around England, but especially in the Thames Estuary and along the south-east coast. It can grow up to a metre in length.

The Thornback Ray looks kite-shaped because it has a flattened body and broad wing-shaped fins. It also has a long whip-like thorny tail. The top of the Thornback Ray can be light brown or grey with lots of small dark spots, blotches and yellow patches. The underside is creamy-white with a greyish edge. The Thornback Ray has large sharp-looking hooked spines on its skin which are used to keep predators away. Its eyes are situated at the top of its head.

Thornback Rays live at the bottom of the sea and are very graceful swimmers that seem to glide through the water. They mainly eat shrimps, crabs, sand eels, flatfish and herring. They are caught nowadays for commercial use and are sold at most fishmongers. Many fishmongers describe most ray fish as 'skate'.

Salmon (Atlantic)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:27:19 +0100

The Atlantic Salmon is a fish that is equally at home in freshwater and saltwater, although it is usually younger Atlantic Salmon that are found in larger rivers in England. Adult Atlantic Salmon spend most of their lives in the Atlantic Ocean where they travel in small groups hunting for food.

The Atlantic Salmon is a large powerful-looking fish that is around a metre in length. It is a silver-blue colour with black spots on its sides and back. It is often called the ‘king of fish’ because people regard it as a very handsome fish. The Atlantic Salmon returns to the place it was born to spawn and it is not uncommon to see this fish leaping as high as four metres to overcome obstacles such as waterfalls and rapids to get to its birthplace. This fish generally spawns only once and then eventually returns to the open sea where it remains for the rest of its life.

Small Atlantic Salmon are called ‘fry’. Fry very slowly and gradually travel through the open seas to head towards river estuaries where they mature into adults. The journey from sea to rivers can take up to two to three years.

SPONSORED BY: Captain Hornblower, St Leonards on Sea

Seabass (European)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:27:42 +0100

The European Seabass is also known as the Sea Dace and can be found in our deeper coastal waters off the south and south-west of England. In the summer months small groups of juvenile European Seabass can be seen in estuaries, harbours, lagoons and rivers looking for food.

The European Seabass has silver sides and a white belly. It is just over a metre in length and weighs around fifteen kilogrammes. It has two fins on its back which are called ‘dorsal’ fins. One fin is quite large and spiky-looking while the other fin is smaller and quite smooth. The European Seabass uses these fins to maintain stability and balance. This fish can be a very fast swimmer and can easily be recognised because of its style of swimming. It tilts its head at an angle when it bursts forward and at the same time moves the back part of its body in a wavy fashion before moving its tail fin. It then flicks the tail fin two or three times to help it to quickly propel forward.

Even though European Seabass have come under increasing pressure from commercial fishing, recreational anglers have banned bass fishing in thirty-four areas in England to help save this fish.

Sponsored by: Terence Alldridge, Petersfield

Shark (Basking)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:28:06 +0100

The Basking Shark is believed to be one of the world’s largest fish, after the Whale Shark. It can reach a length of around ten metres, but usually it is about seven metres long and weighs around seven tonnes. This shark often swims near to the surface of the water which gives it the impression that it likes basking in the sun. This is why this shark has its name the ‘Basking Shark. It is also known as the Sunfish.

The top part of the Basking Shark is black and the under part is mottled shades of grey and brown. Its body is covered in black slimy mucus. The Basking Shark is a slow and gentle swimmer. It has fin on its back that flops from side to side. This fin is called the ‘dorsal fin’ and is over one metre long.

Basking Sharks have small black eyes and very small teeth. They don’t use their teeth to eat because they are filter feeders. Basking Sharks eat vast quantities of microscopic zooplankton which is filtered from the water as they swim forward. They swim forward with their huge mouths gaped wide open to catch zooplankton. Basking Sharks can be seen around the west coast of England.

Shark (Porbeagle)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:28:29 +0100

The Porbeagle Shark is a deep water shark that can be found all around our coasts, but it very seldom swims in shallow waters. It is sometimes called the Blue Dog Shark because its upper body is usually blue, although the upper body can be dark grey sometimes. The underside of the Porbeagle Shark is white.

The Porbeagle is a large stocky-looking shark that is about two metres in length and around two hundred kilogrammes in weight. It has a long pointed nose and two large black eyes. Its teeth on the lower jaw are smooth, narrow and sharp and the teeth on the upper jaw are triangular-shaped. These two types of teeth help the Porbeagle Shark to stab, hold and cut its food. It mainly eats fish.

The Porbeagle Shark is also known as the Mackerel Shark because it loves eating mackerel. It also eats cod, herring, squid and shellfish. Sharks are often called cruel, vicious and a danger to man. Unfortunately, the reverse is often more accurate because the Porbeagle Shark is in severe decline and is considered to be critically endangered.

Sponsored by: Colin Henshaw, St. Leonards on Sea

Shark (Tope)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:28:54 +0100

The Tope Shark is one of England’s most common and best-known native large sharks. It can be found all around our coastline near to shallow waters. In summer the Tope Sharp often swims more closely inshore. It is also known as the ‘soupfin shark’ because its fins are used in soup.

The Tope Shark can reach two metres in length and can weigh up to fifty kilogrammes. It has a long, flat, pointed snout and small black eyes. It has triangular-shaped teeth arranged in two to four rows. The teeth are sharply pointed and are angled outwards. The top part of the Tope Shark is a grey colour and the underside is white or a light grey. It has a very slender-looking body. It has one fin at the rear end of its back and another fin in the middle. These fins are called ‘dorsal’ fins.

The Tope Shark is a very quick and light swimmer. It is also a solitary shark that spends most of its time near to the bottom of the sea. It feeds on a variety of fish such as cod, herring, mackerel, pilchards, salmon and also on crabs, snails, octopus, sea urchins and crabs.

Skate (Blue)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:29:21 +0100

The Blue Skate is also known as the Common Skate and is very rarely seen nowadays around our coasts due to over fishing. Very occasionally it can be found in waters around northern England and in the English Channel.

The Blue Skate is a large ray with a long pointed snout. It is the largest European ray and can grow nearly three metres in length. The Blue Skate looks kite-shaped because it has a flattened body and broad wing-like fins. It also has a long tail with thorny spines running along it. The upper part of the Blue Skate is a greenish brown colour with a tint of blue. It has lighter mottling on its back and the underside is a dark greyish black with black spots or stripes.

Young Blue Skates develop from eggs inside cases which are about six centimetres long and four centimetres wide. The cases are dark and oblong-shaped and are known as Mermaid Purses. Mermaid Purses are often washed up on our beaches. They can easily be recognised because they look like they have a horn sticking out of each corner.

Sole (Dover)

livelinkadmin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:29:49 +0100

The Dover Sole is one of several native flatfish that can be found around the southern coastlines of England. The other native flatfish are the halibut, brill, dab, turbot and plaice. The Dover Sole, like other flatfish, lies on the seabed on its side with both eyes set on one side of its head. However, when this fish is first born, it has an eye on each side of its head, like most fish.

The Dover Sole goes through a remarkable transformation because as its body first grows in depth and length, its left eye begins to move to the other side of its head. Basically it transforms itself into a ‘right-eyed fish’, which it is often called. After a few months the Dover Sole starts to develop a flatter shape and begins to look like other native flatfish. The adult Dover Sole is oval-shaped with a rounded head. It can grow up to seventy centimetres in length and can camouflage itself very well on the sea floor because its colour can vary between grey, red and brown with dark blotches.

Dover Soles are usually solitary fish that can be found on sandy or muddy seabeds as deep as three hundred metres. They mainly feed on small fish, crustaceans, soft-bodied molluscs and marine worms.