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Northern puffer

Sphoeroides maculatus

norther_puffer.1jpg

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

Species Information
Size Maximum 250 mm; common to 200 mm.
Diagnostic characters
Habitat, biology, and fisheries Found in bays and estuaries, as well as offshore waters to depths of at least 60 m. Not a schooling species, but often occurring in large disorganized aggregations. Feeds primarily on shellfish, occasionally on finfish. The landings within the area, as reported by the USA, are negligible, but catches are higher further north; caught mainly with crab pots and on hook-and-line; marketed fresh as ‘Sea squab’; reportedly non-toxic, but often confused with toxic species.
Distribution Restricted to the northern part of the area, off northeast Florida, northward extending to Newfoundland.
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.