Next size up sir...!

Murat · Dec 16, 2003

Heyt memo, Iskaroz is parrot fish but not the big one like in oceans. I think that med sea has european parrot fish. They taste as good as barbun isn't it?

Yes wishbone, top side shoots are the only way for barbuns, needs excelent marksman especially shallow waters that the tides can disturb you....But its great pratice with a reward of tasty fish. I had 75cm gun with 6mm shaft i don't hesitate to hunt those fish. But 6.5mm shaft and power 18mm bands little hard to load that much its time consuming also...But good for beginner shooters. Now i am hitting grouper from its eye and head shot to sargos are dead easy....

Memo · Dec 16, 2003

yes murat that fish is really delicious! I asked the name, because one of my friends who was in the the last dive trip said, he read an article, saying the specie of european parrot fish is in danger of extinction?

I tried to make some search but could not get anything......

IMO, there are more than enough of them

Murat · Dec 16, 2003

There is not much parrot fih here. Some dives you don't see any, but some times you can see few. But they are smaller than common size only 10-15cm rarely 20cm. I think divers shoot them before they reach the mature size...

Adrian · Dec 16, 2003

Any pictures of a Med parrot fish?

Or their latin name?

Adrian

Memo · Dec 16, 2003

Hi Adrian,
I couldnt find the latin name, or a real picture of the european parrot, but its almost similar to this one.
Females are grayish blue, males are red

Wishbone · Dec 18, 2003

Hey guys,

I hope you're talking about that little fish:

The English name is Wrasse. There are several sub-species in the Med and the Black sea. Locally we call the small ones Lapina, and the bigger med ones Labrida, since they come from the Labridae family.
The one on the photo (provided to me by Dimitar Andreev) is a female Peacock wrasse (not a Parrot, but close )
The males are much more colorfull and it's obvious where they get their name! You can see on this photo from Fishbase by Miquel Pontes:

We have PLENTY of those in the shallows, even though they rarely grow larger then the flat of the hand. In deep water however you can get much larger Labrida's. We never hunt them though. Ppl say they taste bad.
The ones in the shallows will come and peck some invisible food right off your wetsuit or gun during longer ambushes.
They are really great to look at, especially when they guard their nests. It's the only fish here that comes closer to the coral ones in terms of colors.

Hope my guess is right,

Cheers!
Ivan

unirdna · Dec 22, 2003

Hey guys,

I just got back from Cozumel, and can tell you that there's no shortage of parrot fish there. The one in this photo was nearly 1 meter long. Also saw what I think was a goatfish (closely followed by scavengers and thieves).

Goby hunting sounds fun. Do they live over soft substrate? Or do you need a new spear every time ?

Ted

Murat · Dec 22, 2003

Nice pictures ted. Are those big parrots in us is good eating?

shaneshac · Dec 22, 2003

The one at the back is the forgetful one from Finding Nemo, is it not?

Rui Santos · Dec 23, 2003

Hi

European Parrot fish latin name is "Sparisoma cretense".
In Azores there are some many that they defecate all over you during aspectos. Males are grey and females are the red ones.

Cingene · Dec 23, 2003

Rui,

Are you from Terceira? I used to live there in Porto Martins and had seen big parrotfish (about 1.5 meter in length) in shallow waters about less than 3 meters. Biscoitos also had parrot fish about a meter long in deeper waters (about 20 meters or so) but a bit more tamed than the Porto Martins variety.

I hope the winds hasn't picked up, it is winter there isn't it?
Happy hunting.

Ate logo

unirdna · Dec 23, 2003

Murat,
I have no idea how they taste. That was the first one I ever "shot" . From what I've read on the board, many species are frequently protected by law.

Shaca,
I think that last fish is some sort of surgeonfish. Note the small bony spine near the peduncle. Did that Ellen-fish from the movie have the same spine?

Ted

Wishbone · Dec 23, 2003

Hey Ted,

for the gobies you don't use strong bands and you don't even need a barb on the shaft. The tips need frequent sharping, yes. Well.. You should avoid shooting directly at rocks as usually. You can use a flexible plastic base trident tip, but I don't. Light polespears work great!

So it turns out there are real parrots in the med.
Here is the link to the Fishbase pics of the species name given by Rui! 10x, mate.

http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/ThumbnailsSummary.cfm?ID=13025

Rui Santos · Dec 23, 2003

Hi Cingene

I'm not from Azores...at least yet.
I've only been twice to Terceira and only in Angra and Airport.
I usually go to S.Jorge.

I've never seen or know about 1,5m parrot fish in Azores. Are you sure they where parrot fishes! The ones I reffered to usually have about 50 cm max and rarely more than about 3,0kg.

But some strange (or lost) fish show up in Azores. One friend caught a 37 kg Tarpon this past September in S.Jorge Island. Right in the Harbor. Probably got lost and caught in the Gulf stream and ended up there!

cheers,

Rui Santos · Dec 23, 2003

Hi Cingene

I'm not from Azores...at least yet.
I've only been twice to Terceira and only in Angra and Airport.
I usually go to S.Jorge.

I've never seen or know about 1,5m parrot fish in Azores. Are you sure they where parrot fishes! The ones I reffered to usually have about 50 cm max and rarely more than about 3,0kg.

But some strange (or lost) fish show up in Azores. One friend caught a 37 kg Tarpon this past September in S.Jorge Island. Right in the Harbor. Probably got lost and caught in the Gulf stream and ended up there!

cheers,

Cingene · Dec 24, 2003

Hey Rui,

Yeah, they're there. Ask the fishermen in Porto Martins, they know. When you do tell them Marcos sent you.

SASpearo · Feb 17, 2004

Hey!

Lekke' Harder, my broe!

Jy moet hom rook, dan's hy op sy beste. Die rooinekke noem hom 'n Striped Mullet, ons kry ook die Flathead hier, maar is nie so lekker nie al word hy groter.

Amphibious · Mar 10, 2004

nice Goatfish Murat - those are damn good on the BBQ.

Bluecape, find a turkish cook and ask them how to prepare mullet - some of the best fish I've ever eaten was fire roasted mullet while treking in Turkey.

Amphibious · Mar 10, 2004

nice Goatfish Murat - those are damn good on the BBQ.

Bluecape, find a turkish cook and ask them how to prepare mullet - some of the best fish I've ever eaten was fire roasted mullet while treking in Turkey.

Amphibious · Mar 10, 2004

nice Goatfish Murat - those are damn good on the BBQ.

good way to hunt them is to pat the sand and make it puff up. they come running! used to shoot a lot of those when I lived in Arabia.

Bluecape, find a turkish cook and ask them how to prepare mullet - some of the best fish I've ever eaten was fire roasted mullet while treking in Turkey.

Next size up sir...!

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