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For planning a fishing trip only, not for navigation. Check an official tide table and local conditions before you go.

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Fish guide

Greater forkbeard

Phycis blennoides · Cod and relatives

Also called forkbeard

Greater forkbeard
Photo: J. F. Hennig, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What fish is this?Identify a fish from a photo

A deepwater cod relative of sand and mud on the shelf and slope, mostly met by anglers far offshore.[1]

How to recognise it

  • Very long, thread-like pelvic fins that reach well past the start of the anal fin.[1]
  • Brown to red-grey on the back and paler on the belly, with a long ray at the front of the first dorsal fin.[1]
  • Most are under 45 cm.[1]

When and where

Found over
sand, mud, deep water[1]

Sources

  1. FishBase: Phycis blennoides

These notes are a draft: we gathered them from the sources above and are still checking them. We don't work out best times for this fish yet. The size rules come from the same checked byelaws as every other fish.

Size and bag limit

Minimum size
Sizes vary along the coast. Pick your spot to see the rule there.
Bag limit
None set for the whole UK.
Minimum sizes around the UK
AreaMinimum size
Kent & Essex IFCANone
Sussex IFCANone
Southern IFCANone
Devon & Severn IFCANone
Cornwall IFCANone
Isles of Scilly IFCANot checked yet
North Western IFCANone
North Eastern IFCANot checked yet
Northumberland IFCANot checked yet
Eastern IFCANone
Welsh GovernmentNot checked yet
Scottish GovernmentNot checked yet
DAERA (Northern Ireland)Not checked yet