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Fish guide

John Dory

Zeus faber · Everything else

Also called dory

John Dory
Photo: Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What fish is this?Identify a fish from a photo

A solitary ambush hunter of small fish, found around southern England and Ireland mainly in the warmer months. Shore catches are very rare and most come from boats.[1]

How to recognise it

  • A large dark spot, ringed in pale, in the middle of each flank.[2]
  • Nearly round, flat-sided body in yellow, brown or orange, with a big head and a mouth that shoots out like a tube.[1]
  • Long spiny filaments on the front dorsal fin and long trailing pectoral fins.[1]

When and where

Found over
near the seabed, open water[1]
Baits
lures, fish strip[1]

Sources

  1. British Sea Fishing: John Dory
  2. FishBase: Zeus faber

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