Porkfish

At a glance

Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus) is an IUCN Least Concern bony-fish species with specific harvest rules tracked in 1 of 66 jurisdictions covered by CatchRules.

Confirmed by 1,054 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• Gets its name from the loud grunt it produces by grinding its pharyngeal teeth.
• Juveniles serve as cleaner fish, picking external parasites off larger reef fish.
• Instantly recognizable by two bold black bars across a bright yellow body.
• A nocturnal feeder that hunts worms, crustaceans, and invertebrates after dark.
• Commonly reaches 14 inches in length on shallow Caribbean coral reefs.

Where Porkfish are seen

• Florida1,052 iNat obs
• North Carolina1 iNat obs
• Virginia1 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Porkfish

• FloridaUnited States · official source

Background

Anisotremus virginicus, the porkfish, is a species of grunt native to the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil and the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. This nocturnal species inhabits areas of reef or with rocky substrates at depths of from 2 to 20 metres (6.6 to 65.6 ft). It can reach a length of 40.6 centimetres (16.0 in) TL though most do not exceed 25 centimetres (9.8 in). It is of…

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Porkfish article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other bony fish on CatchRules

• Northern PikeEsox lucius
• Moorish IdolZanclus cornutus
• PerchPerca fluviatilis
• Nile TilapiaOreochromis niloticus