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Fish guide

Red mullet

Mullus surmuletus · Mullet

Also called striped red mullet

Red mullet
Photo: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What fish is this?Identify a fish from a photo

A warm-water fish, not a true grey mullet, found mainly in the English Channel and southern North Sea and more common in the south and west. Most are caught by accident by anglers after other fish.[1]

How to recognise it

  • Two long barbels under the chin.[1]
  • Steeply sloping head, large eyes, and red stripes (sometimes yellow) along the back and upper sides, fading pale underneath.[1]
  • Two separate dorsal fins and a deeply forked tail.[1]

When and where

Found over
sand, shingle, mixed ground[1]
Baits
fish strip, crab, worms[1]

Sources

  1. British Sea Fishing: Red mullet

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 IFCA15 cm
Southern IFCA15 cm
Devon & Severn IFCANone
Cornwall IFCA15 cm
Isles of Scilly IFCANot checked yet
North Western IFCA15 cm
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