Gray triggerfish can live to be 16 years old. Male triggerfish are usually bigger than females. All triggerfish will grow to be sexually mature by the time they reach 2 years of age. “When a triggerfish feels threatened it will dive into a tight, confined space such as a crevice and anchor itself into place by locking its’ ‘trigger’ spine,” he said. “Triggerfish get their name from spines that have been developed on the dorsal fins that can be used as a predator defense and for holding themselves in place on rocky, or coral bottom. The first spine is large, and when upright it remains that way until the fish relaxes the smaller second spine, triggering the first,” said Seward. Anatomy and life historyīoth species share similar habitat, spawning behavior and life history. Gray triggerfish landed by the recreational fleet had an average fork length of 13.8 inches over the past 10 years. Recreational length frequency data was not available for queen triggerfish,” Seward noted. “Looking at the last 10 years of our commercial fish house data, the average (fork length) for gray triggerfish was 15.3 inches and 18.2 inches for queen triggerfish. However, queen triggerfish are much less commonly encountered than gray triggerfish in North Carolina, he added. Our average queen triggerfish tend to be slightly larger than the gray,” Seward said. “Gray triggerfish in North Carolina can grow to 30 inches in length and weigh up to 13 pounds, while queen triggerfish grow to maximum lengths of about 24 inches, and up to 12 pounds. Whereas grays have a drab coloration, queen triggerfish have a beautiful, rainbow spectrum along their bodies and fins. There is no mistaking the two. Gray triggerfish are easy to distinguish from queen triggerfish. Unlike their cousin, the filefish, which are commonly confused with triggerfish, triggerfish have more than one dorsal spine. “Both the gray and queen triggerfish have large, sharp teeth, and a deep, laterally compressed body covered with tough sandpaper-like skin,” said Seward. Juveniles also have saddle markings, and light spots on their dorsal, or top, and anal fins, he said. Juvenile triggerfish appear yellowish with violet dots that are usually small but can also have irregular dark patches that can be significantly large on their fins and body. “Adult gray triggerfish can change their color, especially during the spawning season that usually begins in April and will continue through August of each year. Males turn dark charcoal gray, while females who are actively nesting’s colors will be highly variable with contrasting white and black color patterns,” said Seward. Easy to identifyĪdult gray triggerfish are mainly olive-gray in color and have blue spots and lines on the upper body and dorsal fin, and the upper part of their eyes are blue. I have observed this species as primarily a light- to medium-gray in color while scuba diving. “Both species live on ocean hard bottoms, reefs and ledges, on shipwrecks, nearshore, and offshore locations, either alone or in small groups, or schools,” said McLean Seward, fisheries biologist with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.īoth triggerfish species have various nicknames depending upon where they are caught, including taly, leatherjacket, leatherneck, or just plain triggerfish. In North Carolina, the state records are 11 pounds 6 ounces for a gray triggerfish caught off the coast of Morehead City in 1992, and 10 pounds 11 ounces for a queen triggerfish caught in 2012 off Jacksonville. Queen triggerfish are the second member of this group caught off the North Carolina coast, but are less frequently encountered by fisherman. They live in depths between 7 and 92 feet in the Caribbean, Bahamas, the Atlantic from Canada to Florida, Bermuda and the Gulf of Mexico, but are more typically caught at depths between 10 and 98 feet. Gray triggerfish are the primary members of this species found in North Carolina waters. They range in the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia south to Argentina. A second population can also be found in the Gulf of Mexico. Flapping them in the “breeze,” they are able to hover in one position. They can also lock themselves in a reef crevice for protection by erecting these same fins and wedging themselves in place. Once the fish release this defense mechanism, they are nearly impossible to get free - also posing a challenge for fishermen once hooked. These animals swim by moving their top fin and bottom fins. One of the strangest looking and trickiest to catch saltwater fish in North Carolina waters is the triggerfish.
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