Anglerfish Welfare: Deep-Sea Predators and Bycatch

Anglerfish are deep-sea predators with remarkable biology and welfare challenges related to both bycatch in deep-water fisheries and their unusual reproductive biology.

Key Facts

Anglerfish use a bioluminescent lure to attract prey in the deep sea
In some anglerfish species, tiny males permanently fuse to females, losing their independent existence completely
Anglerfish are caught as bycatch in deep-water trawl fisheries targeting other species
The monkfish (anglerfish) is harvested commercially and is among the most commonly eaten deep-sea fish in Europe
Deep-water trawling that catches anglerfish also destroys slow-growing deep-sea coral and sponge habitats

Welfare Considerations

Anglerfish welfare raises questions at multiple levels. As sentient fish, individual anglerfish caught as bycatch in deep-water trawls experience the physical trauma, pressure injury, and suffocation that affects all fish caught this way. At a deeper level, their biology raises fascinating questions about individuality and welfare — parasitic males who have fused with females and lost their independent neural function present genuine puzzles for welfare theory. The destruction of deep-sea habitat in the fisheries that catch anglerfish affects the ecosystem welfare of countless other deep-sea species.

What You Can Do

Reduce consumption of monkfish given deep-sea trawling welfare and habitat concerns
Ask seafood retailers about the catching method used for monkfish in their supply chain
Support deep-sea marine protected areas that exclude trawling from cold-water coral ecosystems
Follow the Marine Conservation Society Good Fish Guide ratings for anglerfish species
Advocate for bycatch reporting requirements in deep-water fisheries to document and reduce unwanted catches