#Trigger fish skin#

Triggers can vary in colour, mainly they are an olive brown or greyish, but they can have blue on their flanks that catch the light and occasionally a hint of yellow about the head. There is also a sharp spine where the pelvic fins should be, and this again is part of the fish’s protection system. The tail fin has long extensions which are another giveaway as to the ID of a triggerfish. The second dorsal and the anal fins are both large.

Pressing on the second spine disengages the whole dorsal, hence the name triggerfish. The first is sharp and strong, and the second and third fit into a groove in the fish’s back that locks the whole first dorsal into an erect position as a defence mechanism. It has an ovalised deep body, a small eye and small mouth, but the mouth has sharp incisor type teeth it uses to prise shellfish from their grip on the rocks.

It’s almost impossible to confuse the triggerfish with any other species. With so many UK anglers now targeting either an annual or lifetime species target number, the triggerfish has become of great interest and this coincides with an increase in their numbers due to climate change and warming sea temperatures.

#Trigger fish skin#

Their nickname is “File fish” as their skin is very abrasive and feels like a file or rasp. The UK triggerfish is called the Grey Triggerfish. There are around 40 different triggerfish species around the world, the majority in tropical and subtropical waters. That said, they have been caught and recorded from the 1950’s on, and probably previous to that too, just not registered as such. It was just the occasional fish caught by accident. The triggerfish is a relatively new annual target for UK sea anglers, as prior to the turn of the millennium, they were fairly rare in British and Irish waters. Rigs and techniques for catching triggerfish.