Meet a Hog?

Meet a Hog?

We’re back on the Camp E&E boat today to meet some other fish! We may even done our snorkeling gear tomorrow! Today we’re saying hello to a species that is named after another farm animal- but this time they are named after a hog!

Meet the Hogfish

FUN FACTS:

• Hogfish have long snouts that they use to root around the ocean floor looking for prey.
• They often make a grunting noise when looking for food too. This is where they get their famous name- the hogfish.
• These carnivores are big fans of crustaceans.
• Hogfish are Sequential hermaphrodites. That means they change their sex during their lifetime. All hogfish start off as female and change to male as they mature.
• Males have a large black spot on their behind their pectoral fin and are a bright orange or red. Females are grey or brown.
• They are members of the wrasse family, but are closely related to parrotfish.
• These popular recreational fish are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. The number of individuals that are fished is controlled to avoid overfishing.