1 / 16

Identifying Target Fish Species on the Reef

Learn how to identify target fish species on the reef, including groupers, barramundi cod, sweetlips, snappers, butterflyfish, humphead wrasse, parrotfish, bumphead parrotfish, and moray eels. Understand the key features to look out for, such as markings, color, shape of the head and body, and swimming habits. Recognize each species based on specific characteristics and behaviors to enhance your underwater experience.

zakaryan
Download Presentation

Identifying Target Fish Species on the Reef

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. REEF CHECK TARGET FISHES REEF CHECK TARGET FISHES ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

  2. TARGET FAMILIES TARGET FAMILIES • Groupers • Barramundi Cod • Sweetlips • Snappers • Butterflyfish • Humphead Wrasse • Parrotfish • Bumphead Parrotfish • Moray Eels

  3. HOW TO IDENTIFY A FISH HOW TO IDENTIFY A FISH Interorbital region Dorsal fin (and spines) • Morphology • Shape of the head, body, mouth, fins and tail • Markings and patterns • Color (might differ between juvenile and adult) • How it swims • Continuously • Stop start motion • Where it stays in the water column? • High in the water column • Near the bottom Eye Upper jaw Caudal peduncle Lower jaw (mandible) Caudal fin Suborbital region Pectoral fin Pelvic fin Anal fin Operculum (gill cover) Gill opening

  4. HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE TARGETS HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE TARGETS

  5. GROUPERS GROUPERS Some have distinctive spines on their dorsal (top) fin Ambush predators  usually wait motionless on top of corals Eyes at the top of the head, close to the mouth Wedge-shaped tail Protruding lower jaw Often have spots Bottom dwellers  flat underside Count only individuals over 30cm!

  6. BARRAMUNDI COD BARRAMUNDI COD Flattened head followed by a hump Very shy so will likely hide under corals and rocks Swim with pectoral fins

  7. SWEETLIPS SWEETLIPS Thicker body than a grouper Upper lip thicker and protrudes over the bottom Low set mouths with thick lips! Often have spots and stripes patterns

  8. Watch out for this one… Manyspotted Sweetlips - Juvenile Juveniles can often vary greatly in their appearances from their adult forms

  9. SNAPPERS SNAPPERS Shallow sloping forehead Not symmetrical about the middle line Angular shape of head Move continuously Often found in large schools Usually in mid-water Thin lips

  10. BUTTERFLYFISH BUTTERFLYFISH Small, disc-shaped, laterally compressed or triangular Small protruding mouth Often bright yellow, black, and white colours Very small gap between tail and rear fins Often move in pairs

  11. HUMPHEAD WRASSE HUMPHEAD WRASSE HUGE fish!! Hump on their forehead Eyes can move independently Thickened lips Off-transect sighting included!!

  12. PARROTFISH PARROTFISH Large scales Often green with blue and pink marks – colorful! Swim with pectoral fins Fused teeth form a beak – you can’t get the mouth wrong! Only count those above 20cm!!

  13. BUMPHEAD PARROTFISH BUMPHEAD PARROTFISH VERY LARGE Also has a “beak” instead of teeth Typically feed in schools Large bump! Off-transect sighting included!!

  14. MORAY EELS MORAY EELS Hide in holes Often still with their mouths open

  15. RARE ANIMALS RARE ANIMALS Note anything rare even if off-transect

  16. STUDY WELL… STUDY WELL… We will answer further questions you have on camp  AND SEE YOU SOON! AND SEE YOU SOON!  

More Related