Sea devils (anglers). Deep sea anglerfish (lat. Ceratioidei) Fish with an antenna on its head

Today we are talking about angler fish. And all because news appeared that it was first filmed in natural environment habitat at a depth of 600 meters using special underwater equipment!

Angler fish are a completely unusual order of fish.
They live deep, deep in the water and look rather unattractive. They have a very large flattened head, and the upper jaw can extend! But the most interesting thing is how the angler fish hunts. There is a bait on his back - once one feather from his dorsal fin separated from the others and turned into a “fishing rod”, at the end of which a small “flashlight” formed.

In fact, this is a gland similar to transparent pouch, which contains bacteria. They may or may not glow, depending on the anglerfish itself, which can control the bacteria by dilating or constricting blood vessels. If the vessels expand, more oxygen enters the “flashlight”, it shines brightly, and if they narrow, its light disappears. And this “flashlight” in complete darkness lures prey to the anglerfish. As soon as a fish or any other animal approaches the “flashlight,” the angler opens its mouth and sucks in the fish with lightning speed.

Anglerfish have the fastest cast of any animal! Here there is slow motion and you can see how quickly he eats what he managed to lure - once and done.

And its stomach can stretch so that a fish the size of an anglerfish can fit inside it.
All of these photos show a female anglerfish, only she has a "fishing rod". But this photo is interesting because both the female and the male are immediately visible in it. There he is - that little fish on the right.

And here is the same video in which he was first filmed in his own habitat. The angler fish here is small, or rather small - 9 cm.

I wonder if the children will notice a curious detail about this fish?
Look, his tooth fell out! In the video they joke that it is unclear whether a new one will grow or not, but one thing is clear: there are no tooth fairies in the ocean!

There are probably very few people who would not know about the existence of this mysterious and frightening species of marine life called “ angler" But many people think that this is fairy creature, just an idea.

Actually this is not true. The photo shows the monkfish fish in all its splendor. It really exists, but at great depths and in the darkness of the sea, probably because of its ugly appearance, which is why it has such a name, scientists tried their best.

However, under this name, there is already an inhabitant of the aquatic expanses, this is a mollusk. We will talk about it another time. Today our hero is a representative of ray-finned fish from the order Anglerfishes.

Appearance Features

When you look at a monkfish, you immediately notice the presence of a growth on the head with a luminous tip in front of the ugly mouth, the so-called “fishing rod” for their shaped similarity.

With its help, the angler lures the prey and catches it. Hence the common name - anglerfish.

Monkfish fish reaches a length of up to 2 meters and weighs approximately 20 kg. The body shape of the anglerfish is slightly flattened. As a matter of fact, he is far from handsome in appearance and looks, to put it mildly, creepy.

His body is covered with ugly skin growths that resemble driftwood and algae. His head is too large in relation to his body and is unpleasant, just like mouth opening. The scaleless skin is a dark spotted brown color with a green or red tint; on the abdomen it is slightly lighter, closer to white.

A wide mouth with sharp, huge teeth pointing inward and perioral folds that constantly move for camouflage. The eyes are small, the visual ability is underdeveloped, as is the function of smell. This is such a cute monkfish.

The Anglerfish's Home

The birthplace of European and American type Anglerfish - Atlantic Ocean. However, it was noticeable off the European coast, and off the Icelandic coast, and even in the Baltic, Black, North and Barents Seas.

The Far Eastern species of anglerfish has taken root well along the Japanese and Korean coasts, in the Okhotsk, Yellow, and South China seas.

Living conditions and character of the anglerfish in its native environment

Reside monkfish in underwater depths from 50 to 200 m, closer to the very bottom, his native element, where he can lie in complete peace on a sandy or muddy bed, or among stones.

But don’t think that he is lying inactive. This is his way of hunting for prey. The angler lies motionless and waits. And the moment the prey swims nearby, it instantly pounces on it and absorbs it.

And it happens that with the help of fins, it jumps and begins to chase the victim and successfully overtakes it. Anglers are predatory fish.

Anglerfish food

Basically, the diet of fish monkfish are made up of smaller fish: Katrans, silversides, Kalkans, stingrays, etc. Lured by the light of the anglerfish, the small fish fall straight into his mouth.

Monkfish will not disdain crustacean mollusks. During special periods, Zhora can supplement its menu with herring or mackerel and even waterfowl.

Features of procreation

Male anglerfish are much smaller in size. To fertilize eggs, they need to find a mate and not miss her, so they literally bite into her forever.

After some time, they grow into each other, forming a single whole, as a result of which part of the male’s organs dies. Nutrients are transferred through the blood from the female.

The angler-husband only needs certain moment fertilize the eggs.

During the sexually mature period, to procreate, female anglerfish descend to depths of almost 2000 m to lay eggs. A female anglerfish can lay a clutch of approximately 3 million eggs, which forms a wide ribbon of about 10 m with cells in the form of hexagons (honeycombs).

After some time, these so-called honeycombs are destroyed. As a result, the eggs become free and are carried in all directions by currents.

A few days later, tiny larvae are born from the eggs, and after 4 months they are already fry. The fry, 6 cm long, independently sink to the bottom of shallow water.

Anglerfish and people

Hunting for people is not a vital necessity for anglers; it is not his style. But a person can actually get wounded if he gets stuck on a monkfish thorn.

However, to the most annoying visitors, he can show his sharp teeth in practice, dashingly grabbing the curious one.

In America and some European countries In the restaurant business, anglerfish meat is used as a delicacy that tastes like lobster. In Asian countries, monkfish is used in cooking. Because of this, there is a real hunt for such a creepy-looking fish.

Curious facts

Anglerfish, when hungry, are able to catch prey large sizes, than usual. And because of the structure of their teeth, they cannot release it back, and in the end they may even die.

Anglerfish, or sea devils (Lophius) are very prominent representatives a genus of ray-finned fish belonging to the family of anglerfish and the order of anglerfish. Typical bottom inhabitants are found, as a rule, on a muddy or sandy bottom, sometimes half-burrowing into it. Some individuals settle among algae or between large rock fragments.

Description of monkfish

On two sides of the monkfish’s head, as well as along the edges of the jaws and lips, hangs fringed skin that moves in the water and resembles algae in appearance. Thanks to this structural feature, anglerfish become inconspicuous against the background of the ground.

Appearance

The European anglerfish has a body length of within a couple of meters, but more often - no more than one and a half meters. Weight Limit adult is 55.5-57.7 kg. The aquatic inhabitant has a naked body, covered with numerous leathery growths and clearly visible bony tubercles. The body is flattened, compressed towards the back and belly. The eyes of the monkfish are small, widely spaced. The dorsal area is brownish, greenish-brown or reddish in color with dark spots.

The American anglerfish has a body no more than 90-120 cm long, with an average weight of 22.5-22.6 kg. The black-bellied anglerfish is a deep-sea fish reaching a length of 50-100 cm. The body length of the Western Atlantic anglerfish does not exceed 60 cm. The Burmese monkfish, or Cape anglerfish, is characterized by a flattened head of enormous size and a fairly short tail, which occupies less than a third of the total body length. The size of an adult does not exceed a meter.

This is interesting! The devil is a unique fish in appearance and lifestyle, capable of moving along the bottom with peculiar jumps, which are carried out due to the presence of a strong pectoral fin.

The total body length of the Far Eastern anglerfish is one and a half meters. The aquatic inhabitant has a large and wide flat head. The mouth is very large, with a protruding lower jaw, on which there are one or two rows of teeth. The skin of the monkfish is devoid of scales. The pelvic fins are located in the throat area. Wide pectoral fins They are distinguished by the presence of a fleshy blade. The first three rays of the dorsal fin are separate from each other. The upper part of the body is brown in color, with light spots surrounded by a dark border. The lower part of the body is characterized by a light color.

Character and lifestyle

According to many scientists, the very first anglerfish or monkfish appeared on our planet more than a hundred million years ago. However, despite such a venerable age, characteristics behavior and lifestyle of monkfish on this moment not very well studied.

This is interesting! One of the anglerfish's hunting methods is to jump using its fins and then swallow the caught prey.

So big for a person predatory fish practically does not attack, which is due to the significant depth at which the anglerfish settles. When rising from the depths after spawning, too hungry fish can harm scuba divers. During this period, the monkfish may well bite a person on the hand.

How long do anglerfish live?

The longest recorded lifespan of the American anglerfish is thirty years. The black-bellied anglerfish lives in natural conditions about twenty years. The lifespan of the Cape monkfish rarely exceeds ten years.

Species of monkfish

The genus Anglerfish includes several species, represented by:

• American anglerfish, or American monkfish (Lophius americanus);
• Black-bellied anglerfish, or southern European anglerfish, or budegassa anglerfish (Lophius budegassa);
• Western Atlantic anglerfish (Lophius gastrophysus);
• Far Eastern monkfish or Far Eastern anglerfish (Lophius litulon);
• European anglerfish, or European monkfish (Lophius piscatorius).

Also known are the South African anglerfish (Lophius vaillanti), the Burmese or Cape anglerfish (Lophius vomerinus) and the extinct Lophius braсhysomus Agassiz.

Range, habitats

The black-bellied anglerfish has become widespread in the eastern Atlantic, from Senegal to the British Isles, as well as in the waters of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Representatives of the species Western Atlantic anglerfish are found in the western Atlantic Ocean, where such an anglerfish is a bottom-dwelling fish that lives at a depth of 40-700 m.

The American sea devil is an oceanic demersal (bottom-dwelling) fish that lives in the waters of the northwest Atlantic, at a depth of no more than 650-670 m. The species has spread along the North American Atlantic coast. In the north of its range, the American anglerfish lives at shallow depths, and in the southern part, representatives of this genus are sometimes found in coastal waters.

The European anglerfish is common in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of Europe, from Barents Sea and Iceland to the Gulf of Guinea, as well as the Black, Northern and Baltic seas. The Far Eastern anglerfish belongs to the inhabitants Sea of ​​Japan, settles along the coastline of Korea, in the waters of Peter the Great Bay, as well as near the island of Honshu. Part of the population is found in the waters of the Okhotsk and Yellow seas, along the Pacific coast of Japan, in the waters of the East China and South China Seas.

Anglerfish diet

Ambush predators spend a significant part of their time waiting for their prey absolutely motionless, hiding on the bottom and almost completely merging with it. The diet is represented mainly by the most various types fish and cephalopods, including squid and cuttlefish. Occasionally, sea devil eats all kinds of carrion.

By the nature of their feeding, all sea devils are typical predators. The basis of their diet is represented by fish that live in the bottom water column. The stomach contents of anglerfish include gerbils, small stingrays and cod, eels and small sharks, as well as flounder. Closer to the surface, adult aquatic predators are able to hunt mackerel and herring. There are well-known cases when anglerfish attacked not too large birds, which sway peacefully on the waves.

This is interesting! When the mouth opens, a so-called vacuum is formed, in which the flow of water with the victim quickly rushes into oral cavity sea ​​predator.

Thanks to the pronounced natural camouflage, the monkfish, lying motionless on the bottom, is almost invisible. For the purpose of camouflage, the aquatic predator burrows into the ground or hides in dense thickets of algae. Potential prey is attracted by a special luminous bait, located by monkfish at the end of a kind of fishing rod, represented by an elongated ray of the dorsal front fin. At the moment when crustaceans, invertebrates or fish touch the eski, the lurking sea devil very sharply opens its mouth.

Reproduction and offspring

Individuals of various species become fully sexually mature in at different ages. For example, male European anglerfish reach sexual maturity at the age of six years (with a total body length of 50 cm). Females mature only at the age of fourteen, when individuals reach almost a meter in length. Spawning European anglers V different time. All northern populations living near the British Isles typically spawn between March and May. All southern populations inhabiting the waters near the Iberian Peninsula spawn from January to June.

During the period of active spawning, males and females of the genus of ray-finned fish, belonging to the family of anglerfish and the order of anglerfish, descend to a depth of forty meters to two kilometers. Having descended into the deepest water, the female angler fish begins to spawn, and the males cover it with their milk. Immediately after spawning, hungry, sexually mature females and adult males swim to areas of shallow water, where they intensively feed before the onset of spawning. autumn period. Preparation of monkfish for wintering is carried out at a fairly large depth.

Eggs laid sea ​​fish, a kind of tape is formed, abundantly covered with mucous secretions. Depending on the species characteristics of the representatives of the genus, the total width of such a tape varies between 50-90 cm, with a length of eight to twelve meters and a thickness of 4-6 mm. Such ribbons are able to drift unhindered across the expanses of sea water. A peculiar clutch, as a rule, consists of a couple of million eggs, which are separated from each other and have a single-layer arrangement inside special mucous hexagonal cells.

Over time, the walls of the cells gradually collapse, and thanks to the fat drops inside the eggs, they are prevented from settling to the bottom and freely floating in the water. The difference between hatched larvae and adult individuals is the absence of a flattened body and large pectoral fins.

A characteristic feature of the dorsal fin and pelvic fins is represented by highly elongated anterior rays. Hatched anglerfish larvae remain in the surface layers of water for a couple of weeks. The diet consists of small crustaceans that are carried by water currents, as well as the larvae of other fish and pelagic caviar.

This is interesting! In representatives of the European monkfish species, the caviar is large and its diameter can be 2-4 mm. The eggs laid by the American anglerfish are smaller in size, and their diameter does not exceed 1.5-1.8 mm.

In the process of growth and development, monkfish larvae undergo peculiar metamorphoses, which consist in a gradual change in body shape to the appearance of adults. After the anglerfish fry reach a length of 6.0-8.0 mm, they descend to a considerable depth. Sufficiently grown young individuals actively settle in the middle depths, and in some cases the juveniles move closer to the coastline. During the very first year of life, the rate of growth processes in monkfish is as fast as possible, and then the development process sea ​​creature noticeably slows down.

A fish that has a lantern actually exists and the fish is called a lantern fish, and correct name deep-sea anglerfish. Fish need light to attract food; the fish is a predator and feeds on other fish. The fish looks terribly scary, but it is found only in the ocean and the deep-sea anglerfish is safe for humans.

There is a fish that lives in the ocean, and the name of such a fish sounds like a sponge-water angler, it also has another name and it sounds like a Lantern Fish. This is the kind of fish that nature came up with for us, it is very unusual.

We are talking about a fish whose name is interesting in itself - the deep-sea anglerfish.

I remember this fish from childhood, I liked its image, I thought about it different stories, because she seemed extraordinary to me, and surprisingly beautiful.

Only **females** have a lantern fish with the complex name deep-sea anglerfish.

The characteristics and features of these fish are clear from the name:

They live at very great depths of the ocean - up to 3000 m. At such a depth, the internal pressure in the fish reaches a value of 300 atmospheres. In this regard, the fish look quite ugly, well, at least unusual, to be politically correct: the body is bloated, the eyes are bulging, the ventral fins are missing, the skin is covered with plaques, etc.

Females of the deep-sea anglerfish are much larger than males, they are real predators: a large mouth, powerful teeth, a big stomach, and a lantern as bait.

Because It is very dark in deep water; females hunt with the help of a lantern. Small fish swim to the light, then the female brings the end of the fishing rod with a lantern to her mouth, and the victims swim there.



You are probably interested in the deep-sea angler fish.

There really is a fish that has a lantern - this is a deep-sea anglerfish. In another way, this fish is called lantern fish. Nature has created it in such a way that it does not have a small flashlight on its head, with the help of which it perfectly lures in order to feast on small fish and shellfish. The fish is predatory, has big jaw with sharp teeth.

Deep Sea Anglerfish or Lantern Fish

This fish has a small flashlight on its head - this is how it was created

She attracts small fish and shellfish with it.

Which he then eats with great pleasure - this is the diet

The fish is quite scary, with big teeth - a real horror depths of the sea

At the same time, there will always be someone who wouldn’t mind having lunch with the angler himself.

The deep-sea anglerfish is a deep-sea fish from the order Anglerfishes. They live at great depths of the World Ocean, preferring to stay up to 3 km. from the surface of the water.

This fish received the nickname anglerfish for its remarkable appendage on the head of females. This fishing rod actually performs the role of catching prey: it is equipped with a special gland that is filled with bioluminescent bacteria. The angler lures the victim to this light, moving the fishing rod towards the mouth. Thus, the prey itself swims into the fish’s mouth.

Flashlight Fish was discovered by Rafinesque in 1810. Now there are about 100 species of this family. They notice a decrease in the pelvic fins, close to their disappearance. Luminous organs are distributed very differently. There are orbital, abdominal, preanal and posterior anal, caudal and, finally, supra-caudal luminous organs.

I remember, even in my distant childhood, I saw in a book about animals an image of this fish that lives at great depths, and I remembered it because it was very remarkable appearance this cutie, which is called a deep-sea anglerfish or sea devil (you can read it here, or here). The fish was named anglerfish because of the growth in the frontal part - it looks like a fishing rod with a flashlight - with its help the predator lures prey.





Deep sea anglerfish or lantern fish.

This extraordinary fish is so adapted to environment, which over time created such a bait, small fish swim to the light, the fish waits and eats them.

This insidious and interesting creature lives in the depths of our ocean, about 1500-3000 meters, which is quite a lot.

Anglerfish photo:



The World Ocean contains amazing creatures. Among these unusual creatures In this case, fish, at its depths you can find amazing fish.

Why is she amazing? - And the fact that she actually has a lantern - a bait (appendix), with the help of which she catches small fish that bite on her bait.

This fish is called sponge anglerfish or fish - lantern.

I remember during my childhood there was such a program, as well as a book and a cartoon, called KOAPP. And among the heroes there was a character, Angler Fish. I didn’t know then that this fish looked so scary. But this particular fish has such a device attached to its head, which helps the angler fish get food by attracting curious fish with a flashlight.

However, the answer would not be complete if we did not talk about a fish that has a glowing lantern under its eye. This is the lantern eye fish or Photoblepharon steinitzi.

Here is a photo of this fish.)

Fried medallions and tender pate, aromatic fillet under cheese sauce and sweet soup - these and many other monkfish delicacies are offered to visitors of expensive European and Asian restaurants. Light, with pinkish veins, low-calorie meat has decent taste.

Behind the strange name “monkfish” is hidden most interesting representative class of ray-finned fish (order of anglerfish). The inhabitant of the oceanic and sea depths received its name for its rather terrible appearance, cunning and incredible gluttony.

Description

The order of anglerfish consists of 11 known to science families, including about 120 species of fish. Monkfish fish is among large predators. The catches usually contain individuals up to 1 meter long and weighing up to 10 kg, but there are also two-meter giants weighing up to 40 kg.

The entire order of anglerfish has a disproportionate body: the narrow rear part is flattened laterally, and the wider front part (including the head) is flattened in the dorsoventral direction.

A wide mouth with a slightly protruded lower jaw can open almost the entire circumference of the huge head, which is up to 2/3 of the length of the fish

The structure of the upper and lower jaw(in particular, flexible bones and a movable upper jaw) allow the monkfish to swallow prey that is significantly larger than itself.

The unsightly picture is complemented by sharp teeth of varying lengths curved inward.
The unique dorsal. It is divided into two independent parts. Rear scientific interest has no idea: it is soft, located near the tail, its rays are connected by a membrane.

The anterior part of the fin consists of six spiny rays. One of them is at the top of the head, just above the jaw.

The beam (scientifically called illicium or trapping outgrowth) is directed forward and looks like a kind of fishing rod

Thanks to its catching growth, the monkfish has another name - the anglerfish. In some species, the illicium can be retracted into a special hole on the back. The fish lures food with its own flashlight. It is called “esca”, located at the end of the illicium and is a leathery growth.

In fact, an esca is a mucus-filled gland that is inhabited by living microorganisms. Bacteria exhibit bioluminescence, requiring the presence of oxygen. During the hunt, the angler fish expands the walls of the arteries, providing a flow of oxygen to the gland.

The bacteria glow, creating a series of sequential flashes that attract potential prey

Having sated, the anglerfish narrows the walls of the blood vessels, and the glow stops.

For this feature monkfish is sometimes called lanternfish.

Another nickname for the anglerfish is associated with fins - frogfish.

Powerful muscular pectoral fins, reinforced by skeletal bones, allow the monkfish to move along the bottom like an amphibian: by special jumps or crawling, alternately rearranging the fins

Interesting fact! Nature has endowed only the female monkfish with a fishing rod and flashlight.

Sexual dimorphism and reproductive characteristics

Anatomical differences are manifested not only in the absence of an illicium with an esca in males, that is, the main devices for obtaining food. Dimorphism is, first of all, expressed by a significant difference in the growth of males and females. If the average length of females, depending on the species, varies from 0.5 to 1.5 meters, then male anglerfish have a height of 16 mm to 4 cm.

Scientists have long puzzled over why only female specimens of the mysterious fish end up in fishermen’s nets. The males were even credited with some semblance of intelligence, allowing them to avoid captivity.

Gradually, the male fuses with the female with his tongue and lips, and a little later with blood vessels. He loses vital organs (teeth, intestines, eyes) and becomes an appendage of the female, feeding on her blood.

In the photograph, the arrow indicates a male attached to a female. The picture gives an idea of ​​the dimorphism of individuals of different sexes.

Being almost completely dissolved in the female, the male fertilizes the eggs at the right moment

The only function that the male retains is the ability to produce sperm. For this reason, a female often carries up to 4 males.

Females are very fertile. IN spring-summer period they lay up to 3 million eggs. Spawning occurs at a depth of at least 900 m. The eggs are connected into a ribbon-like clutch up to 12 meters long. The mucus-covered ribbon floats freely until the cell walls begin to disintegrate. The hatched larvae live in the surface layer of the reservoir for 2–3 weeks, feeding on pelagic eggs, copepods, and fry of other fish. Only after reaching a length of 8 cm, the juvenile angler fish descends to depth.

Range of the most common species

Observing monkfish is difficult due to the great depths of its habitat. Of the 120 species included in the order Anglerfishes, five are the most studied:

• European monkfish: distributed in the Black, Baltic, Barents, North Seas, in the European part of the Atlantic Ocean, and the English Channel. It lives at depths from 18 to 550 meters, where it grows up to 2 meters;
• black-bellied monkfish(other names: boudegassa anglerfish, southern European anglerfish): differs from its European counterpart in its more modest size: 0.5–1 meter. The species' distribution zone is the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean from Great Britain to Senegal (habitat depth 300–650 m). The fish can be found in the Mediterranean and Black Seas at a kilometer depth;
• American monkfish: lives in the waters of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean at depths of up to 670 meters. The maximum length of the American anglerfish is 1.2 meters, weight is about 23 kg;
• Far Eastern monkfish(yellow or Japanese anglerfish): a one and a half meter monster has chosen the waters of Japanese, Yellow, Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Less common in Pacific Ocean in the area of ​​Japan. Feels comfortable at a depth of 50 meters to 2 kilometers;
• Burmese monkfish(Cape anglerfish): lives in the western part of the Indian and south-eastern parts Atlantic Oceans at a depth of up to 400 meters. The size of the largest individual does not exceed 1 meter.

All species are of commercial importance. If previously monkfish were caught as bycatch, now valuable fish are purposefully caught using nets. Amateurs catch anglerfish with bottom gear using live bait.

How and who does monkfish hunt?

There are small, close-set eyes on the head of the anglerfish, but the deep-sea fish cannot boast of visual acuity. However, she does not need to chase prey. Monkfish prefers to ambush near the bottom.
Natural camouflage contributes to successful hunting.

The constantly moving long leathery folds around the monkfish's mouth mislead gullible fish. They mistake them for algae

The fish has no scales. Her body is covered with plaques, spines, tubercles and similar growths. The bare skin is colored in accordance with the general background of the bottom of the habitat. Usually these colors are brown, black, dark gray; in some species there are light spots randomly scattered throughout the body.

Interesting fact! While waiting for prey, the monkfish is capable of remaining motionless for a long time and even holding its breath. Pauses between breaths can be up to 2 minutes.

As soon as the inhabitants of the reservoir, attracted by the glow, come close to the mouth, the angler sharply opens its huge mouth and, along with the flow of water, draws in the prey. The victim does not have time to offer resistance: the entire process lasts no more than 6 milliseconds.

The diet of the monkfish consists of various crustaceans, as well as: flounder, eel, stingray, and sometimes small sharks. During the feeding season, the anglerfish may leave its usual depth. Then his prey becomes cod, mackerel, and herring.

There are known cases of fish attacking waterfowl. True, such gluttony costs the life of the angler himself: he dies from feathers stuck in his mouth

The terrifying appearance of the monkfish has given rise to many superstitions and legends. It is widely believed that the anglerfish attacks swimmers. The statement is only partly true. During the period of zhora, the fish rises to the surface of the reservoir and can actually bite a person. The rest of the time, the monkfish prefers to stay at depths beyond the reach of divers.

In the UK, since 2007, there has been a ban on the sale of monkfish meat in supermarkets. This is how environmentalists try to preserve unique fish.