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Wrasses
Pictures and text by Rudolf Svensen
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Ballan Wrasse |
Goldsinny |
Wrasses like warm water. They really
are living on the edge of their area in the seas around
Norway. We have 6 different wrasses living in Norwegian
waters.
These are: Goldsinny (bergnebb), Cukoo Wrasse/Red Wrasse
(blåstål), Ballan Wrasse (berggylt), Rock Cook
(gressgylt), Scale-rayed Wrasse and Corkwing Wrasse.
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Rock Cool |
Cuckoo Wrasse |
The Ballan Wrasse is the largest one. It may grow to a
length of 60 cm and a weight of 4 kilos.
Goldsinny Wrasses are our smallest wrasse. It seldom
gets bigger than 10 cm. The last years have fishermen
started commercial fishing for Goldsinny. They are used
in fish farms where they clean the salmon from parasites.
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Scale-rayed Wrasse |
Rock Cook |
Cukoo Wrasse and Red Wrasse are male and female of the
same species. The males have many females in a kind of a
harem. If the male dies, one of the females change sex
and become the new owner of the harem. All of the above
mentioned Wraases can be spotted in large numbers during
the summer and autumn in the fjords around Stavanger .
Several of the wrasses build nests to hide their eggs
in. It is the male which guard the eggs and keep them
clean and in good conditions. During the wintertime do
the wrasses appear on deeper water where they avoid the
colder water close to the surface.
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Corkwing Wrasse |
Red Wrasse |
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