Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)
Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)
Common name: lumpfish
Scientific name: Cyclopterus lumpus
Locations: seaweed beds as juveniles, open water as adults
Seasonality: February - June when they move to shallow waters for spawning
Colors: green, blue, gray, brown, males red during mating season
Size: 1” - 12”
Collected: fishing line
Quantity: sold by the each
Tidepool Tim says, "As juveniles, lumpfish live within beds of marine vegetation like eelgrass and seaweeds. They attach to substrate with a chest sucker. When they're adults they live in open waters, visiting shallow water to spawn February to June.
Lumpfish eat sea lice, a troublesome parasite that lives on farmed salmon and jeopardizes salmon populations. Some salmon farmers have even introduced lumpfish to their farms to help control the sea lice population."