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Gray triggerfish

Balistes capriscus

Information and species illustrations courtesy of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Species Information
Size Maximum to about 30 cm; commonly to 20 cm.
Diagnostic characters
Habitat, biology, and fisheries Found in shallow water down to about 50 m depth. Nothing definite is known about the areas occupied by this species, but like B. vetula, it seems to occur in coral reef environments including shallow sandy or grassy areas as well as rocky bottoms. Feeds on bottom-living invertebrates. Caught incidentally throughout its range, but apparently not very abundant. Taken in bottom trawls, in traps, and on handlines. The flesh is of excellent quality. Consumed mostly fresh. Separate statistics are not reported for this species.
Distribution Both sides of the tropical and temperate Atlantic, from Nova Scotia to Argentina, including the Caribbean (rare) and Gulf of Mexico, and from England and Europe to Africa.
Citations Carpenter, K.E. (ed) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 1: Introduction, molluscs, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome, FAO. 2002. pp. 1-600. Carpenter, K.E. (ed) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome, FAO. 2002. pp. 601-1374. Carpenter, K.E. (ed) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome, FAO. 2002. pp. 1375-2127.