Red scorpionfish
Fish · Last reviewed 2026-08-17
A Mediterranean ambush predator that is simultaneously one of the region's most prized food fish and the commonest cause of serious envenomation among the people who catch it — and it does not move when you reach for it.
Safety
Venomous and spined species — Can cause serious injury or death
Grooved venom spines in the dorsal, pelvic and anal fins deliver an envenomation producing immediate severe radiating pain, marked swelling, and occasionally systemic effects. The apparatus works on a dead fish, and most envenomations happen during handling — off the spear, into a bag, or during preparation hours later.
What reduces it: Recognise the animal: a motionless, mottled, heavy-headed fish with skin flaps, sitting on rock. Handle with heavy gloves or a cloth, behind the head and clear of the dorsal fin. Cut the spines off before the fish goes into any bag or box a hand will later enter. If stung, immerse in water as hot as can be tolerated without scalding for thirty to ninety minutes and seek medical help; end the dive immediately.
Worse when:
- Reaching into holes and under ledges without looking
- Loose fish in a catch bag, stringer or fish box
- Preparing the catch later, when nobody is thinking about it any more
Encounters with marine life — Can cause injury needing treatment
The fish is invisible until it is recognised, and it will not move out of the way. A hand placed on a ledge, in a hole or on rubble can land on one.
What reduces it: Look before placing a hand anywhere on hard ground in the Mediterranean or eastern Atlantic. Do not hole-hunt by feel. Gloves reduce but do not eliminate the risk — the spines are substantial.
Worse when:
- Poor visibility
- Hole hunting
- Night diving
The red scorpionfish is quarry and hazard in the same animal, which almost nothing else in this catalogue is.
IT DOES NOT RUN. A scorpionfish sits on rock or rubble, camouflaged by mottled red and brown skin and by fleshy tabs and flaps that break its outline, and its defence is to remain absolutely still. A spearfisher, a shore angler unhooking a fish, or a diver putting a hand on a ledge encounters an animal that has decided not to move.
AND IT IS ARMED. The dorsal, pelvic and anal fin spines are grooved and carry venom glands. An envenomation produces immediate, severe, radiating pain that builds over hours, with swelling that can involve a whole hand, and it is among the commonest marine envenomations reported around the Mediterranean.
IT IS ALSO EXCELLENT. Red scorpionfish is a premium fish in Mediterranean and Atlantic Iberian cooking, the traditional foundation of bouillabaisse, and one of the fish a Mediterranean spearfisher genuinely hunts rather than encounters.
THE CATALOGUE COULD NOT SHOW IT. FishingHQ's safety layer names the scorpionfish as a hazard. Its spearfishing vertical is 116 records deep. It held no scorpaenid, which meant a reader told to watch for scorpionfish had no way to learn what one looks like — and for a motionless, camouflaged, venomous animal, recognition IS the mitigation.
Identification
FishingHQ holds no photograph of this species whose identity and licensing it can vouch for, so it is not showing one. Misidentified fish photographs teach identification wrongly, and a picture with an unchecked caption would be worse than none. The identification points below are what to look at instead.
- Scientific name
- Scorpaena scrofa
- Family
- Scorpaenidae
- Water
- Saltwater
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
- Regions
- Mediterranean, North Africa, West Africa
- A HUGE SPINY HEAD relative to the body, with bony ridges, spines above and behind the eye, and conspicuous fleshy tabs and skin flaps — including a prominent one below the lower jaw — that break up the outline.
- MOTTLED RED, PINK AND BROWN, frequently with paler blotches, and often further disguised by encrusting growth. Colour varies with the ground and is not by itself a character.
- TWELVE STRONG DORSAL SPINES, grooved and venomous, plus venomous spines in the pelvic and anal fins. The dorsal fin looks armoured because it is.
- LARGE PECTORAL FINS, broad and rounded, used to brace against rock rather than to swim.
- SITTING STILL ON ROCK, RUBBLE OR MAERL, usually in five to a hundred metres. A fish that does not move as you approach is either dead or a scorpionfish.
- SMALLER MEDITERRANEAN SCORPIONFISH — the black and the small red — are similar in shape and habit and are equally to be left alone. The red scorpionfish is the largest, reaching 50 cm.
Size
- Typical
- 25–35 cm and 0.5–1.5 kg.
- Large
- Over 40 cm and 2 kg is a very good red scorpionfish.
Exceptional: Around 50 cm and in the region of 3 kg is the widely reported upper end for the species.
Lifecycle and reproduction
Slow-growing and long-lived for a fish of its size, maturing at around three to four years and living well beyond ten. Spawning occurs in the warmer months, and the eggs are released in a floating gelatinous mass — an unusual arrangement shared with other scorpaenids — which drifts before the larvae hatch and enter the plankton. Juveniles settle to hard ground. Growth slows markedly with age, so a large scorpionfish is an old fish holding a particular piece of ground rather than a fast-grown one, and a heavily fished reef loses its large animals and does not readily replace them.
Summer spawning, with eggs released in a buoyant gelatinous matrix that drifts at the surface until the larvae hatch. There is no nest and no parental care beyond that packaging. Because adults are sedentary and territorial and larvae disperse in the plankton, recruitment to any particular reef comes from elsewhere, and the local population is a standing stock of resident animals — which is precisely the structure most vulnerable to systematic removal by divers who know where they sit.
Feeding and senses
A sit-and-wait ambush predator with an enormous mouth. Scorpionfish rest motionless on the bottom and take small fish, crustaceans and cephalopods that come within reach with a very fast suction strike, expanding the buccal cavity to pull prey in. They do not pursue. The consequence for an angler is that they are caught on baits fished hard on rough ground, and for a spearfisher that they are approachable to within touching distance — which is exactly the problem.
Vision for the strike, and a well-developed lateral line for detecting prey close by in poor light. The animal's whole strategy is passive, so what matters most is not being detected: camouflage, immobility, and skin flaps that disrupt the outline. It has no reason to detect a diver as a threat and no behavioural response to one beyond staying still.
Through the year
Resident on hard ground year-round, moving into slightly deeper water in winter in the northern part of the range. Individuals hold small territories and are found repeatedly in the same places, which is a fact spearfishers use and a reason a reef can be emptied of large fish.
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic from the Bay of Biscay south to Senegal, including Macaronesia, and throughout the Mediterranean, on rock, rubble, maerl and mixed ground from a few metres to around two hundred. Common across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Iberian and Moroccan coasts.
This is a biological range — where the species occurs, not a prediction that you will catch one. To browse the fishing geography FishingHQ holds, start at fishing places.
Why anglers care
One of the Mediterranean's most valued food fish and a genuine spearfishing target rather than an incidental one, hunted on rock and rubble ground by divers working slowly and looking rather than swimming. It is also taken by shore and boat anglers on baits over rough ground across its range. Its significance for a catalogue with a large spearfishing vertical is disproportionate to its size: it is the fish most likely to injure the diver who catches it, and the injury happens after the fish is dead.
Handling and returning
The venom apparatus does not stop working when the fish does. Most scorpionfish envenomations happen during handling — unhooking, removing a fish from a spear, putting one into a bag, or gutting one hours later — rather than during the encounter. Handle with a cloth or heavy gloves, hold behind the head clear of the dorsal fin, and if the fish is being kept, cut the spines off before it goes into a bag or a bucket with anything else. Never put a live or dead scorpionfish loose into a stringer, catch bag or fish box that a hand will later go into. If the fish is being returned, release it in the water and do not attempt to hold it.
WHAT MAY BE TAKEN, BY WHAT MEANS, IS NOT ON THIS PAGE. Spearfishing law, protected areas, size limits and gear restrictions differ sharply between neighbouring countries and are revised. Check the current position with the authority for the water concerned before entering it.
What a scorpionfish sting does, and the first aid that is agreed
THE MECHANISM. Grooved spines in the dorsal, pelvic and anal fins, each with venom-producing tissue at its base. Pressure on the spine drives venom into the wound. There is no strike, no aim and no intent — the fish is a passive weapon and the person supplies the force.
THE SYMPTOMS. Immediate, intense pain, out of proportion to the puncture, typically radiating up the limb and building over the first hour or two. Marked swelling of the hand or foot is usual and can be substantial. Numbness, discolouration and weakness of the affected part are common, and symptoms may persist for days. Spine fragments are sometimes retained in the wound.
THE FIRST AID IS HOT WATER, and this is one of the few first-aid measures in this catalogue with genuine consensus behind it: the venom is heat-labile. Immerse the affected part in water as hot as can be tolerated without scalding, commonly given as around 40–45°C, for thirty to ninety minutes, topping it up as it cools.
THEN GET IT SEEN. Marine puncture wounds are contaminated by definition and infect readily; retained spine fragments need removing; and the wound may need proper cleaning. Anything beyond straightforward local pain — spreading swelling, faintness, breathing difficulty, a systemic reaction — is a reason to seek medical help immediately. FishingHQ is not a medical authority and local emergency medical services and poisons information services are.
AND THE DIVING CONSEQUENCE IS THE ONE PEOPLE FORGET. A person who has just been envenomated is a person whose hand does not work properly, who is in severe pain, and who may be some way from shore. That is a reason to end the dive immediately, not to press on — and it is why the buddy who is supposed to be watching matters as much here as it does for a blackout.
STOPPING IS ALWAYS A VALID ANSWER.
Authoritative guidance
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
- UK Diving Medical Committee guidance on medical standards for divers — UK Diving Medical Committee (Water-safety or diver-training authority)Relied on for: Medical guidance relevant to divers, including the management of marine envenomation and the assessment of fitness to dive.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Diagnostic identification characters, family placement, depth range and distribution as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- CMAS technical and sporting standards for underwater activities — Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (Standards body)Relied on for: Breath-hold diving and spearfishing practice, training structure and safety expectations as set out by the international underwater federation.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
A fish that does not move, and what that means for a spearfisher
Most spearfishing quarry has to be approached, ambushed or intercepted. This one has to be found.
THE HUNT IS LOOKING, NOT SWIMMING. A red scorpionfish is a shape on rock rather than a fish in water: mottled to match the ground, outline broken by skin flaps, frequently with growth on it, and absolutely still. Divers who take them regularly describe the skill as recognition rather than stalking, and describe missing fish they later realise they swam over.
IT WILL LET YOU GET CLOSE. The animal's defence is immobility backed by venom, so it does not flee at the distance a bream or a bass would. That produces two consequences at once: an easy shot, and a hand near a venomous fish.
THE ETHICS OF THAT ARE WORTH STATING. A sedentary, territorial, slow-growing, long-lived fish that does not run is trivially easy to remove, and it does not come back quickly, because recruitment to a reef comes from plankton spawned elsewhere. Ground that is worked systematically loses its large scorpionfish. Selectivity is the argument spearfishing makes for itself, and this is one of the species where it can most easily be abandoned.
AND THE INJURY COMES AFTERWARDS. Almost every scorpionfish envenomation in a spearfishing context happens during handling: getting the fish off the spear, onto a stringer, into a bag, or filleting it hours later. Cut the spines off before the fish goes anywhere near a bag that a hand will follow it into.
NONE OF WHICH ADDRESSES WHETHER TAKING ONE IS PERMITTED WHERE YOU ARE. Spearfishing rules, protected areas, permitted depths and species restrictions differ between neighbouring Mediterranean countries more sharply than almost anything else in this catalogue.
WHAT MAY BE TAKEN, BY WHAT MEANS, IS NOT ON THIS PAGE. Spearfishing law, protected areas, size limits and gear restrictions differ sharply between neighbouring countries and are revised. Check the current position with the authority for the water concerned before entering it.
Authoritative guidance
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
- BlueWater Hunting and Freediving — BlueWater Freedivers, Ventura, California, 1995 (Practitioner report)Relied on for: Spearfishing practice: approach, quarry behaviour, shot placement and the handling of speared fish, from a practitioner tradition distinct from the European one.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- CMAS technical and sporting standards for underwater activities — Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (Standards body)Relied on for: Breath-hold diving and spearfishing practice, training structure and safety expectations as set out by the international underwater federation.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1995 (Standards body)Relied on for: International principles for responsible fisheries, including selectivity, the treatment of by-catch and the management of small-scale and artisanal fisheries.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of species behaviour and regional practice, recorded as consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Where to go next
How it is caught
- Hole huntingScorpionfish occupy exactly the holes and ledges hole hunting searches, which is why the technique and the envenomation risk arrive together.
- LedgeringTaken on baits fished hard on rough ground by shore and boat anglers across its range.
- Reef spearfishingA genuine Mediterranean spearfishing target rather than an incidental encounter, hunted by divers working slowly and looking rather than swimming.
What these connections rest on (3)
Practitioner consensus — 3 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Hole hunting
Practice, recorded as practice.
- CMAS technical and sporting standards for underwater activities — Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (Standards body)Relied on for: Breath-hold diving and spearfishing practice, training structure and safety expectations as set out by the international underwater federation.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- BlueWater Hunting and Freediving — BlueWater Freedivers, Ventura, California, 1995 (Practitioner report)Relied on for: Spearfishing practice: approach, quarry behaviour and the handling of speared fish, from a practitioner tradition distinct from the European one.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
What divers actually use a technique for, recorded as convention.
- CMAS technical and sporting standards for underwater activities — Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (Standards body)Relied on for: Breath-hold diving and spearfishing practice, training structure and safety expectations as set out by the international underwater federation.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- BlueWater Hunting and Freediving — BlueWater Freedivers, Ventura, California, 1995 (Practitioner report)Relied on for: Spearfishing practice: approach, quarry behaviour and the handling of speared fish, from a practitioner tradition distinct from the European one.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Ledgering
Practice, recorded as practice.
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK sea angling and shore gathering practice as reported by practitioners: ground, seasonal timing, tackle, bait and method convention.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of technique, quarry behaviour and regional practice, recorded as consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Reef spearfishing
Practice, recorded as practice.
- CMAS technical and sporting standards for underwater activities — Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (Standards body)Relied on for: Breath-hold diving and spearfishing practice, training structure and safety expectations as set out by the international underwater federation.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- BlueWater Hunting and Freediving — BlueWater Freedivers, Ventura, California, 1995 (Practitioner report)Relied on for: Spearfishing practice: approach, quarry behaviour and the handling of speared fish, from a practitioner tradition distinct from the European one.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Where it lives
- Inshore groundMixed and broken ground across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Iberian and Moroccan coasts, where it holds small territories and is found repeatedly in the same places.
- Rocky shores and reefsRock, rubble and maerl ground from a few metres down, sitting motionless on the bottom and relying on camouflage rather than flight.
What these connections rest on (2)
Scientific evidence — 2 connections
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Inshore ground
A distributional claim resting on the regional identification and fisheries literature rather than on angling report.
- Cefas science, advice and data on marine and freshwater environments — Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: UK marine science: distribution, habitat association, shellfish and crustacean monitoring, and the biological basis of management advice.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Habitat, depth range and distribution as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Rocky shores and reefs
A distributional claim resting on the regional identification and fisheries literature rather than on angling report.
- Cefas science, advice and data on marine and freshwater environments — Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: UK marine science: distribution, habitat association, shellfish and crustacean monitoring, and the biological basis of management advice.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Habitat, depth range and distribution as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Where you will find it
- CyprusOn the rock and mixed ground, well camouflaged, and carrying venomous dorsal spines. It is caught from the shore regularly enough that an angler unhooking one without looking is a realistic scenario rather than a warning for completeness.
- GreeceA venomous-spined ambush fish of Greek rock and weed ground, and a standing reason not to handle an unfamiliar Mediterranean fish bare-handed.
- Malta and GozoMotionless on rock and rubble, and one of the two animals most likely to injure a diver who reaches somewhere without looking.
What these connections rest on (3)
Scientific evidence — 3 connections
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Cyprus
A distribution edge resting on published regional identification and distribution references, written where the species is genuinely characteristic of the destination's fishing rather than merely recorded from its waters.
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Distribution, habitat association and biology of the fishes of the eastern central Atlantic and the Mediterranean, from the regional identification guides prepared for fishery purposes.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Recorded environment, depth range, distribution and biology of the species named.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Greece
That a species occurs in these waters, drawn from distribution science and stock assessment. It is a statement about where the animal lives and is not a statement that anybody will catch one, still less where.
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Identification, distribution and habitat association of the fishes and invertebrates of the Mediterranean and Black Sea.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Recorded distribution, depth range and habitat association of the species named.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Malta and Gozo
A distributional claim about where a species occurs, resting on the regional identification literature rather than on angling report. It says nothing about where a reader should fish.
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Species composition, habitat association and distribution for the region concerned, as set out in the FAO species identification sheets.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature (Conservation authority)Relied on for: Global assessment and distribution for the species concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Understanding this fish
- Decapod crustaceans as preyAn ambush predator on crustaceans and small fish, with the diet described in the literature at group level.
- Marine-life hazards for divers, in proportionA motionless venomous animal in exactly the places a hand goes is a diving hazard rather than only a handling one.
What these connections rest on (2)
Scientific evidence — 1 connection
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Decapod crustaceans as prey
A diet claim recorded at group level, pointed at a modelled prey CATEGORY, because the reference works describe the diet as a group rather than by species. Naming a particular species the catalogue happens to hold would invent a precision the evidence never had.
- Cefas science, advice and data on marine and freshwater environments — Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: UK marine science: distribution, habitat association, shellfish and crustacean monitoring, and the biological basis of management advice.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Habitat, depth range and distribution as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Marine-life hazards for divers, in proportion
An explainer that carries the mechanism the subject record depends on.
- CMAS technical and sporting standards for underwater activities — Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (Standards body)Relied on for: Breath-hold diving and spearfishing practice, training structure and safety expectations as set out by the international underwater federation.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- BlueWater Hunting and Freediving — BlueWater Freedivers, Ventura, California, 1995 (Practitioner report)Relied on for: Spearfishing practice: approach, quarry behaviour and the handling of speared fish, from a practitioner tradition distinct from the European one.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Told apart from
- Red lionfishSame family, same venom problem, opposite arguments: one is a native whose removal costs the reef something, the other an invader whose removal is the conservation action.
- Reef stonefishBoth are scorpaeniform ambush predators with venomous dorsal spines, in different families, and the pair is the reason the spined-fish habit generalises.
- Greater weeverTwo venomous fish an angler handles, in two seas, with the same first aid and completely different encounters: one is buried in sand and stood on, the other sits on rock and is picked up.
- Long-spined sea scorpionThe British and the Mediterranean version of the same strategy — motionless, camouflaged, ambush, spined — with one carrying venom and the other not.
- Mediterranean morayThe two animals that occupy the ground hole hunting searches. One is motionless and venomous, the other is defensive and bites — and both are met by a hand going somewhere it cannot see.
What these connections rest on (5)
Scientific evidence — 2 connections
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Red lionfish
Taxonomic and practical relatedness recorded because confusable species matter more to a reader than a shared family does, with the evidence naming the species the edge is about.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Identification characters, family placement and biology of Pterois volitans and of the species it is confused with, as set out for the fauna of the British Isles and north-west Europe.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Diagnostic characters and family placement of Pterois volitans as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Reef stonefish
Taxonomic and practical relatedness, with the evidence naming the species the edge is about.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Identification characters, family placement and biology of Scorpaena scrofa and of the species it is confused with, as set out for the fauna of the British Isles and north-west Europe.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Diagnostic characters and family placement of Scorpaena scrofa as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Practitioner consensus — 5 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Red lionfish
A comparison a reader with the animal or the decision in front of them actually needs, joining two records that resolve one another.
- Cefas science, advice and data on marine and freshwater environments — Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: UK marine science: distribution, habitat association, shellfish and crustacean monitoring, and the biological basis of management advice.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Habitat, depth range and distribution as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Reef stonefish
A comparison a reader with the animal or the decision in front of them genuinely needs.
- UK Diving Medical Committee guidance on medical standards for divers — UK Diving Medical Committee (Water-safety or diver-training authority)Relied on for: Medical guidance relevant to divers and water users, including the recognition and management of marine envenomation.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Diagnostic characters and distribution of the venomous species concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Greater weever
A comparison a reader with the animal or the decision in front of them actually needs, joining two records that resolve one another.
- Cefas science, advice and data on marine and freshwater environments — Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: UK marine science: distribution, habitat association, shellfish and crustacean monitoring, and the biological basis of management advice.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Habitat, depth range and distribution as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Long-spined sea scorpion
A comparison a reader with the animal or the decision in front of them genuinely needs.
- UK Diving Medical Committee guidance on medical standards for divers — UK Diving Medical Committee (Water-safety or diver-training authority)Relied on for: Medical guidance relevant to divers and water users, including the recognition and management of marine envenomation.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Diagnostic characters and distribution of the venomous species concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Mediterranean moray
A comparison a reader with the animal or the decision in front of them actually needs, joining two records that resolve one another.
- Cefas science, advice and data on marine and freshwater environments — Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: UK marine science: distribution, habitat association, shellfish and crustacean monitoring, and the biological basis of management advice.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Habitat, depth range and distribution as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Safety reading
What these connections rest on (1)
Authoritative guidance — 1 connection
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
Venomous and spined fish
A link to a safety topic substantial enough to be read in full.
- RNLI water safety guidance: cold water shock and Float to Live — Royal National Lifeboat Institution (Water-safety or diver-training authority)Relied on for: Water safety guidance for coastal and inland users.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Rules and access
What these connections rest on (1)
Authoritative guidance — 1 connection
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
Method and bait restrictions
A link to a rule CONCEPT rather than to any rule. The record carrying it renders the regulatory-variance notice.
- Angling Trust guidance for anglers — Angling Trust (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: The structure of angling regulation and representation in England, and the framework within which anglers are asked to check local rules.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- JNCC species and habitat conservation advice — Joint Nature Conservation Committee (Conservation authority)Relied on for: UK conservation designation and the framework of protected species and habitats.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Check the rules before you fish
Fishing laws, bylaws, access rules, seasons, bait restrictions and permitted methods vary by location and can change. Check the current rules from the relevant authority and the water you intend to fish before fishing.
Check with:
- Current national or regional law for where you are fishing
- Current local bylaws
- The relevant fisheries authority
- The landowner, club or fishery whose water it is
- Any restrictions specific to the species or the method you intend to use
Sources for this page
- FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Diagnostic identification characters, family placement, depth range and distribution as set out in the FAO species identification sheets for the region concerned.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature (Conservation authority)Relied on for: The global Red List category and the assessment behind it, assessed 11 January 2014. A statement about the species across its range and not about any managed stock.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- UK Diving Medical Committee guidance on medical standards for divers — UK Diving Medical Committee (Water-safety or diver-training authority)Relied on for: Medical guidance relevant to divers, including the management of marine envenomation and the assessment of fitness to dive.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- BlueWater Hunting and Freediving — BlueWater Freedivers, Ventura, California, 1995 (Practitioner report)Relied on for: Spearfishing practice: approach, quarry behaviour, shot placement and the handling of speared fish, from a practitioner tradition distinct from the European one.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy.