Monkfish (a).
The Monkfish Bag
When making this I thought about how to…
Un-fillet a fish
Show the shape change
Use charity shop materials
Make ‘ugly’ an accessory
Artist: Faith Foster
Fish Profile:
White Monkfish - Lophius piscatorius
Black-bellied Monkfish - Lophius budegassa
Conservation status
White Monkfish (or Anglerfish) is the most common species found around Britain. Black-Bellied Monkfish are found across North West Europe. Monkfish is highly valued by chefs.
White Monkfish are listed as of Least Concern by the IUCN and black bellied as data deficient. However, they point out concerns about the way they are fished.
Greenpeace list Monkfish on their Red List because of fishing methods: ‘Anglerfish is caught using bottom trawls or gillnets. Bottom trawling causes significant disturbance to seabed habitats and has high bycatch of unwanted and undersized species that are thrown back into the sea dead or dying.’
The MCS have 6 Best Choice fishing areas and 6 In Need of Improvement. They mention fish stocks are increasing but also potential damage to the ocean floor from some trawlers.