Monkfish, where and how?? or shall i give up now!!

[Tong]

Hey all,

i am a big fan of monkfish but i dont have a clue about where they are found, how deep and if i stand any chance of finding them!!
I would love to hunt my own as i loath paying almost £18 per kilo at tesco!


Chow

 

[dave]

What is sold as monkfish is actually anglerfish. Monkfish are a member of the shark family, also called the angel shark.
20 years ago you had a good chance of seeing an anglerfish anywhere along the coast, Brixham Breakwater and the Lizard were particularly good, but the rise in demand and heavy tangle netting has pretty much wiped them out in shallow water, even in deeper water the average size caught now is tiny compared to what it used to be
I dont know anyone who has speared a decent one for at least 10 years. I did see one a few weeks ago (first for at least 8 years) but it was about 6 inches long!
Anglerfish are yet another example of the incompetance, lack of imagination and complacency that passes for fisheries management in this country

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[foxfish]

As Dave says, they used to be common but not anymore!
My brother OMD has had some big ones over the years but not recently.

 

[Lazuli]

Dave is absolutely right about the crass mismanagement of the fishery. Last week I saw anglerfish tails the size of a fish finger on the slab of a Polish fishmonger's market stand. Its a travesty seeing such undersized fish on sale.

Check out Old Man Dave's gallery on Medfish. There's a picture of him holding a monster Angler!

 

[tecdave]

The angelshark (original monkfish!) is a fully protected species under wildlife and countryside act now so has the same protection as Dormice, Great crested newts etc. Shame they dont give the same protection to the anglerfish for a few years!

 

[Broseidon]

Thought I'd add some pics

Taken from the Irish Fisheries Board:

In Ireland the name monkfish has has generally referred to the species of shark Squatina squatina. The monkfish got its name as it is said to resemble the cowl or pointed hood of a monk's vestments.

However the fish mongers and restaurant trade have tended to use the name monkfish to refer to the anglerfish, two species of which are caught in Irish waters; Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa. The anglerfish is a muddy brown fish which can grow quite large. It is prized for its meaty tail and is frequently served in the best restaurants. The anglerfish is so named as sits on the sea bed with its mouth open using a modified dorsal fin ray as a fishing rod which waves and dangles a "lure" just over its gaping maw. In this way it captures its food.

Just for interests sake - does anyone know how Anglerfish breed??

You may be suprised!!!!!!!!

...Another unusual adaptation in anglerfish is their sexual dimorphism. The males are very small in comparison with the females, and live as permanent parasites on the female. The male attaches himself, by biting, to the body of the female. His mouth fuses with her skin, and the bloodstreams of the two fishes become connected. The male is now totally dependent on the female for nourishment. In fact, the male begins to degenerate. His eyes grow smaller and he eventually loses them. His internal organs disappear. The male becomes simply a source of sperm. Breeding for anglerfish takes place from spring to early summer. The egg mass forms large gelatinous sheets 9m by 3m in size, which floats near the surface.

 

[glowworm]

I have been told of several anglerfish sightings over the last couple of years but all have been very small.

 

[Broseidon]

I have been told of several anglerfish sightings over the last couple of years but all have been very small.

I found a small one in a rockpool once - evil looking little bastard!

 

[Tong]

I didnt realise they were using anglerfish and monk fish were the same thing!!

I was out bubble blowing one day and a fellow diver said he had seen what he thought was a turbut, he touched the tail and it turned around and looked at him with its mouthfull of teeth and he s**t hinself, his dive buddy who was waching said it was about a meter long.... that was about 6 months ago in 18m of water just off the mewstone in plymouth.

thanks for the info, i will keep my eye out for anglers

 

[Old Man Dave]

Not the one mentioned as seen on medfish but another "smaller" one.

As said by others they were very common until they became popular fare and were fished to near extinction.

They reach about 100lb or so but at that size they make you nervous. They can be very aggressive, but then I've been bitten by most fish at one time or another :martial.

The pic shows a 25lber.

Dave

 

[mishu1984]

shane posted a pic 4 or 5 years ago of one that he speared of gibraltar. il try to dig it up and post it

 

[sunfish]

The photo's gone but it's a great thread anyway.
http://forums.deeperblue.com/fish-photos-regulations/50625-check-out-whopper.html
Thanks for mentioning that Mishu.
I used to work in a restaurant here sometimes and the anglers, supplied by a local fisherman, were often HUGE so there're still some around. I've never seen one but can only hope.
Do they prefer any particular ground or depth?

 

[jay cluskey]

the angel shark has just recently been listed as exitinct in the north sea
i guess it cant be far off anywere else as the price seems to suggest this.
i enjoy monkfish my self halibut also (tasted similar very rich and fleshy)
good luck

 

[foxfish]

I still cant get my head around why people call Angler fish Monkfish!! Which one are we talking about now
I have never in my life seen a live Monkfish although there was one caught in a net a few years back, it weighed 75lb.

 

[Old Man Dave]

Anglers are found on sandy, gravely, or muddy bottoms. I also caught many on the edge of gravel banks when hunting turbot and brill. Probably the commonest place I have seen them is in the sort of shitty bottom we scallop fish on. Some of the biggest anglers have been caught wedged in scallop dredges.

They are poor swimmers and even with their tales going 15 to the dozen they only make a couple of knots. Doesn't seem to stop them liking areas of strong tide though.

Their body is very flexible their skeleton being cartiledge (like rays and sharks) not bone and they can flatten down and bury in the bottom. They can be hard to spot at times. When they strike up out of the bottom or when speared they can blow up like a tropical puffer fish into almost a ball shape. A ball shape with a bloody great mouth full of teeth. They have rows of teath like a shark and they are needle sharp.

They can be aggressive when speared and often try to bite. Never really managed a kill shot or a knife coup de gras. They are tough mothers. I learnt to always tie their jaws shut with a half hitch of the stringer line having at first had a few chewing on my butt.

Depth wise I've seen them from 15 feet down to 100+ feet but they fish them to 600ft with beam trawlers. Most of mine came from 30 to 80 foot. All the deeper ones on scuba. Before they were overfished though they would come into the bays and have had some nice ones freediving in only 20ft.

I miss seeing the old anglers.

Dave

 

[mishu1984]

[ame=http://www.vimeo.com/1765808]Spearfishing for Anglerfish on Vimeo[/ame]

 

[Mr. X]

...Just for interests sake - does anyone know how Anglerfish breed??

You may be suprised!!!!!!!!

Just like being married then.
Interesting info. OMD what's the vehicle behind you in the picture?

 

[foxfish]

That would be a RAT LDV beach buggy but highly modified to include gull wing doors & lots of lovely body mods. Dave built it when he was a student.

 

[Lazuli]

That would be a RAT LDV beach buggy but highly modified to include gull wing doors & lots of lovely body mods. Dave built it when he was a student.

I'm convinced there's a book or screenplay to be made about you guys somewhere in all this!rofl

 

[rascolor]

dave is absolutely right about the crass mismanagement of the fishery. Last week i saw anglerfish tails the size of a fish finger on the slab of a polish fishmonger's market stand. Its a travesty seeing such undersized fish on sale.

Check out old man dave's gallery on medfish. There's a picture of him holding a monster angler!

hi guys i fill bad as polih spearo people selling somting like that bad practice

----full ban from me-----