A FISH usually found in southern waters has been caught near the Island, in another sign that marine species are moving northwards.
Marine resources specialist Simon Bossy said the comber (Serranus cabrilla) he caught recently was becoming a more-common visitor to Jersey shores.
The former Marine Resources department director was fishing for bream and mackerel a couple of miles off the south coast when he made the unusual catch, and said the fish was normally seen in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the south-western Indian Ocean.
‘Although, reportedly it is infrequently found in the English Channel, I understand that it is now being caught more regularly by local anglers, and it is perhaps another sign that more southern marine species are moving northwards in greater numbers,’ Mr Bossy said.
‘Global warming and climate change is certainly an issue, however change can happen all the time in nature.
‘Around 20-to-30 years ago, a new seaweed was discovered around the Island. People were worried that it would continue to grow and clog up the Channel, but it reached a certain level and stopped spreading. Since then, we have learnt to live with it, and it now supports many species of fish.’
Mr Bossy is also a Gyotaku printmaker – a traditional Japanese method of printing fish – and decided to make a print of the comber. He said: ‘I had not seen one of these before and it was unfortunately damaged and unlikely to survive.
‘It was rather an attractive fish, so I decided to keep it and take a Gyotaku print of it so its life was not wasted and to preserve its image.
‘I subsequently caught a couple more, and both went back to the sea unharmed.’
