Fish Identification Spearfishing Tips

I had same question a while back. I found this page very useful
Fish » Spearfishing Ireland
cornwall probably has same selection of fish.
the Wrasse are pretty distinctive. mowhawk hairdo, funky big lips. come in a few paintjobs. some have a stripe down the side. some appear reddish. they have a very strange gender/breeding set-up and grow slowly, and tend to be quite friendly. they dont taste great either, so not worth spearing.

I always find the easiest way to identify a fish is the swimming style. Wrasse seem to move about using their pectoral fins with little tail movement whereas all the fish worth eating move by flicking their tails.

From above it is easy to see wrasse using their 'arms' to move about and discount them, whereas bass have a beautiful sinusoidal wave going on and I always think a ethereal blue turquoise upper back under the water.

From the side you will soon get used to the profiles but wrasse are quite stumpy 'rectangles', Bass longer thinner rectangles with a clear angle change by the head, whereas mullet have less of a distinction between where the head finishes and the body begins. Pollack have an 'eye' shape and not any straight lines in profile.

You'll soon begin to get a feel for how they move and swim and you'll be able to identify from just a moments glance, but if you do shot a wrasse by accident they make good sushi, sashimi & cerviche. Just don't bother cooking them!