MonkeyFace Info

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/status/monkeyface_prickleback.pdf

They are vegetarians and the 24+ inch specimens that we have been spearing recently are 15-17 years old.

Pretty cool info:

Monkeyface prickleback grow slowly, particularly after the
first few years of life. A 12-inch fish is approximately three
years old, while a 24-inch fish will be 15 to 17 years old.
Monkeyface prickleback have been aged to 18 years using
the otolith and opercular bone, but the largest specimens
have not been aged. The maximum reported size is 30
inches in total length; 18 to 24 inch individuals are not
uncommon.
Information available on age at sexual maturity suggests
that both sexes begin to mature in their third or fourth
year at a total length range of 11.0 to 14.2 inches, while
50 percent maturity occurs at approximately 15.4 inches
at five years of age.

The diet of monkeyface prickleback shifts from carnivorous
to herbivorous with an increase in size. As early
juveniles, up to 3.1 inches, prey items are predominantly
zooplankton and include copepods, amphipods, isopods,
mysids, and polychaetes. At approximately three inches,
they then become almost exclusively herbivorous.

Love them slimy boogers!!

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

That is some cool info...  I was wondering the same thing about abalone, how long it takes for them to get to 8"s

Very interesting!  I didn't know they were such slow-growing animals, or about the shift from carnivorous to herbivorous diets as they age.  Cool stuff, thanks!

Good stuff - love grabbing on to those guys in holes.  I once pulled a big one out of a hole after several reaches in where I would freak out, pull my arm out quickly, then go back in for more.  I got a hold of the middle of its body once I knew it wasn't in a position to bite me, pulled it out, and screamed as it flopped around on the rock and quickly swam off!!!  It was a good 24-30" and a beautiful gray with some spots.

That is some cool info...  I was wondering the same thing about abalone, how long it takes for them to get to 8"s

Red Abalone can grow about an inch a year for the first few, then the growth rate slows.  An 8" ab can be 12-20+ years old, and a 10 incher may approach a century old!

I've done my own field studies in this - I found a 9.5" ab hanging upside down in a cave where I could crawl in at minus tide.  I carefully measured it and left it there.  I'd revisit it from time to time over the years, and it 1)  never moved!; and 2)  never grew in length!!!  It was a healthy red one too, so it's not like parasites had stifled its growth.  I finally picked it TEN YEARS after I found it.  It didn't taste old.   

If monkeyface eels are herbivores, why can you catch one with squid on a pokepole?

If monkeyface eels are herbivores, why can you catch one with squid on a pokepole?

I have heard a couple different reasons (defense response etc), but the answer I have heard which I liked the best is that if you ate salad all day every day and then a nice piece of bbq chicken was poked into your face wouldn't you bite it??

 

I don't know, but every single one I have cut open has a stomach full of stinky kelp and nothing else at all....

One of the mysteries of the universe I guess!

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I'll have to try poking with a bare hook next time.

I have been fishing off the rocks, using squid as bait and pulled one in before. But never realized they were vegetarians. 

Good stuff - love grabbing on to those guys in holes.  I once pulled a big one out of a hole after several reaches in where I would freak out, pull my arm out quickly, then go back in for more.  I got a hold of the middle of its body once I knew it wasn't in a position to bite me, pulled it out, and screamed as it flopped around on the rock and quickly swam off!!!  It was a good 24-30" and a beautiful gray with some spots.

You crazy freakin' noodler!

If monkeyface eels are herbivores, why can you catch one with squid on a pokepole?

IMO, just like many other "beings", they can become opportunistic feeders. I bet a starved-to-death vegan would eventually eat a nice juicy steak if really needed (to survive).

Question on skinning them , same as a catfish or filet them and then remove the skin ?

Question on skinning them , same as a catfish or filet them and then remove the skin ?

MUCH easier to take the skin off first and then filet the meat off the bone.

Just score the skin behind the gills and down along the backbone, grab a corner with some pliers and pull it right off!
 
 
Sincerely,

Jim

Question on skinning them , same as a catfish or filet them and then remove the skin ?

Usually I'll just fillet them like a rockfish.  But you need to get a really good grip on their head, otherwise they'll slip and slide all over the place.  Not to mention that they're surprisingly difficult to kill.  Some people don't like eating them at all, but all the ones I've had were really good.

Question on skinning them , same as a catfish or filet them and then remove the skin ?

  Not to mention that they're surprisingly difficult to kill. 

+1.

The last one I had was totally gutted and skinned and was still flopping around on the cutting board!!
 
Sincerely,

Jim

Eric, you're noodling 'em? That's off the hook. ha. For real? Are ya gloved? Have ya been bit? That's sooooo cooool .
Yea, they like thier grass, but given bbq meat, the munchies overwhelm 'em.