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Ballan Wrasse

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Ballan Wrasse

Description

A colourful fish popular with divers and snorkelers. This is not traditionally caught by Cornish fishermen however, in recent years its commercial value has increased and this species is now being sold to Japanese restaurants where it is prized as sashimi. There is also a fishery for live juvenile ballan wrasse which are used as cleaner fish in salmon farms, where they eat parasites on the salmon and aim to limit spread of disease within the farms.

Sustainability Overview

Ballan wrasse are a common species around Cornwall but one that has not been targeted until recent years. Little is known about current stock levels and there is no management in place to prevent potential over fishing. 

In 2022 a total of 390kg of ballan wrasse were landed to Cornish ports, worth £36k

Updated January 2024

Sustainability ratings for this species

Gill Netting

Cornwall

Gill nets are lightweight nets made of nylon (monofilament) fishing line that are anchored to the seabed and are used to catch fish by entangling the gills.

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How we rate fish

Cornwall Good Seafood Guide rates fish on sustainability using a scale of 1 to 5.

1, 2 and 3 are recommended, Fish to avoid are rated 5.

We use the system devised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) so our scores are comparable with the scores produced by MCS for the UK and fisheries from all around the world. For more information on scoring click here.

Biology

The largest wrasse species found in UK waters, this is a predatory, stocky fish that lives in kelp forests close to the shore and down to depths of up to 50m. Grows to a maximum length of 69cm although most seen are smaller. It can live for up to 30 years. They are territorial and are able to change sex with each large male residing over a harem of several females. If the male dies the largest female will change sex and take over. They feed on a wide range of prey species including crustaceans, molluscs, urchins and small fish. 
They have a relatively high biological vulnerability rating (67% Cheung et al 2008).

Stock Info

There is no information on the stock of this species. There may be an issue with misreporting as MMO data shows landings of Ballan wrasse to be low but landings of wrasses is increasing with landings increasing from less than one tonne per year in the late 1990's to over 5 tonnes per year in 2012 and 2013 nationally. Landings to Cornish ports have remained around one tonne following a large increase from 2017 to 2018.

 

Management

There is currently no minimum landing size enforced for this species.  They are caught as by catch in red mullet and bass nets and may be being targeted by anglers.  There is no limit on the catch of this species (no quota). If this fishery becomes more commercially important this will be needed to be addressed. 

Live wrasse fisheries are highly regulated by Cornwall IFCA with the following regulations:

Permit holders must not retain live cuckoo wrasse, which must be returned to the sea as soon as practicable

No fishing for live ballan wrasse between 1 Jan – 31 Mar (incl)

No live goldsinny, rock cook or corkwing wrasse between 1 May – 30 Jun (incl)

Permit holders may not fish for and retain live wrasse in a prohibited area. Click here to view a map of the prohibited areas

Minimum sizes for live wrasse are:

  • Ballan wrasse = 16cm
  • Goldsinny wrasse = 12cm
  • Rock cook wrasse = 12cm
  • Corkwing wrasse = 12cm

Pots or traps used for taking live wrasse must:

  • Not exceed a length of 75cm
  • Not exceed a Width of 45cm
  • Not exceed a Depth of 35cm (All dimensions include any rigid exterior)
  • Have a rigid or hard eye entrance that does not exceed a diameter, height and width of 9cm
  • Have at least two unobstructed escape gaps measuring at least 7cm in height and at least 1cm in width

 

Capture Info

Caught in gill nets, and occasionally in pots, usually close to shore. Fisheries targeting live fish use specialist pots designed to target small wrasse and crabs.
 

References

Marine Management Organisation Landings data 1994- 2021
Cheung, W.W.L., T.J. Pitcher and D. Pauly, 2005. A fuzzy logic expert system to estimate intrinsic extinction vulnerabilities of marine fishes to fishing. Biol. Conserv. 124:97-111
www.fishbase.org
 

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