Monkfish
Monkfish. Image courtesy of Seafish Public Image Library
White Monkfish - Scientific name - Lophius piscatorius
Black-Bellied Monkfish -Scientific name - 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.
Overview
Monkfish are very distinctive in appearance with flattened heads, wide mouths, and mottled-brown skin. They have a tapering body and are not very tall, giving them a flat appearance.
Although they can grow up to 2 metres the typical size of females is 70-90cms and males 50cms at maturity.
Monkfish are predatory fish whose strategy is to lie in wait on the seabed. They have a modified dorsal fin-ray “equipped with a worm-like lure” which attracts smaller fish. The monkfish is able to leap into action, and with its incredibly wide toothy mouth can engulf its prey easily in one gulp!
Monkfish inhabit the seafloor of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, typically in depths ranging from 20 to 800 metres. They are found in coastal waters around the UK and Ireland.
Monkfish eat fish, crustaceans, molluscs and Squid. They are preyed on by sharks, swordfish, and thorny skates.
More on what is being done to improve conservation.
Nigel Edwards talks about some off the activities that are helping stocks grow, fishing pressure reducing and some promising ICES data.
The latest stock assessment in 2024 shows that spawning-stock biomass (53,377t) has been increasing since 2018, fishing pressure (0.089) has declined and in 2023 was below FMSY (0.137). ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2025 should be no more than 30,726 tonnes. This is a large change in advice following the benchmark of the stock.
The fisheries for the two anglerfish species are managed under Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for two areas, which do not match the stock area. The species are usually caught together and not separated in the landings statistics. Management of the two species in this way risks preventing effective control of the single-species exploitation rates and could possibly lead to overexploitation of either species. The UK Marine Management Organisation is building 43 new Fishery Management Plans (FMP) for the mixed fisheries that includes Monkfish, an example being the Celtic Sea and Western Channel demersal FMP that is due to be published this year. The stakeholders include commercial and recreational fishing sectors, environmental organisations and other key marine bodies.
Sources
IUCN - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/198610/21911225
Cornwall Good Seafood Guide - https://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/monkfish-white.php
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lophius
Marine Conservation Society - https://www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/species/white-monkfish/?search=monk
Greenpeace Red list - http://www.greenpeace-fishforlife.50webs.com/redlists.html