Lumpsucker

Lumpsucker
Cyclopterus lumpus
Max. size: 60 cm

 

Geographical distribution:
The Lumpsucker is found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, in Europe and North America, from Greenland to Newfoundland and New Jersey. 

 

Biology:
In both sexes the spiny front part of the dorsal fins is covered with a thick layer of skin and the body is dotted with bony tubercles arranged in three rows.  The Lumpsucker is a globular fish whose pelvic fins have transformed into a suction pad allowing it to fix itself on to rocks.  

The Lumpsucker generally inhabits the rocky depths between 20 and 200m deep but it sometimes lives in open waters.  It spawns in shallow coastal waters from February to May.  The female lays up to 200,000 eggs that the male watches over.  It is during this period that the aquarium’s biologists recover clutches during shellfish gathering in order to raise the young fish in cold quarantine tanks.

Better known by the name of lumpfish, its gelatinous skin is of no gastronomic interest.  However, lumpfish eggs (false caviar), once pickled in brine and sometimes coloured with squid ink, are a big industry and are spread on toast the world over.

 

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