unusual Fish Confirm ID
Submitted by Habanero on Thu, 2013-11-14 14:41
I think this is a Black Snoek , was caught on bait at night in 200m on last trip to Fiji , fought all the way to the surface , had an unusual bone structure just under the skin all along the side , I did keep the Head/Jaw in the freezer to dry out , but the Fijians found it and ate it! . It had 3 long pink teeth set into the front of the mouth , was approx 2m in length.
Has anyone ever encountered them before? if so where and is it a Black Snoek?
Image Upload:
Ben Derecki
Posts: 1926
Date Joined: 10/10/07
Looks like the one! Black
Looks like the one! Cool looking fish.
Black Snoek belong to the family of fish that includes Escolars, Gemfishes and Snake Mackerels. Black Snoek are elongate, dark brown fish with slightly metallic reflections, sometimes paler on the belly. There are two lateral lines, the upper line running along the first dorsal fin base and ending at the beginning of the second dorsal fin, and the lower line starting below the 4-5th dorsal spine and ending in the tail. There is a black blotch on the first dorsal membrane and up to 18 spines in the dorsal fin. The pelvic fins are well developed and the caudal peduncle lacks keels. The mouth is large with fang like teeth at the front of the upper jaw. The bottom jaw protrudes significantly beyond the upper jaw.
Black Snoek grow to 1.9 metres in length.
They are not highly rated as a table fish, the flesh being oily, with a possible strong laxative effect on some people.
In Australia, Black Snoek are found in waters off all States, except Victoria and Tasmania. They are a deep water predator, to 400 metres, coming into shallower water at night. They are known as a mesobenthopelagic fish.
http://fishwrecked.com/content/fishwreckapedia#comment-211355
Glenn Moore
Posts: 228
Date Joined: 13/02/12
agree
Certainly looks like it.
Glenn Moore
Curator of Fishes
Western Australian Museum
twitter @WestOzFish
Habanero
Posts: 225
Date Joined: 19/06/12
Thanks
Forgot to say that the body was eaten by the Fijians also , before anyone says why waste it..
Rob H
Posts: 5806
Date Joined: 18/01/12
I recognize them from tuna
I recognize them from tuna longlining, though never really paid any attention to what they were called.
Had a skull somewhere but lost it along the way.
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crasny1
Posts: 7003
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Lucky Tim
is the one in the picture, and posted this some time ago. Took a while to sus it out.
http://fishwrecked.com/image/what-have-i-caught
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