New Jersey Scuba Diving

Triggers, Puffers, & Sunfish

Although it seems unlikely, these fishes are all related in the Order Tetraodontiformes. Common characteristics include:

  • teeth fused into horny beaks
  • tough leathery skin
  • swimming primarily with dorsal and anal fins rather than tail
  • pelvic fins lacking

They are all also possessed of rather higher intelligence than most fishes.

Gray Triggerfish

Gray Triggerfish

Balistes capriscus

A Profile
by Stacey Reap

Range:
The Gray Triggerfish is found on both the eastern and western Atlantic coasts. Along the Atlantic coast of North America, it ranges from Nova Scotia and Bermuda to Argentina, including a presence in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Most of the approximately 40 other species in the Balistes family can be found in tropical seas worldwide.

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Planehead Filefish

Filefish

Stephanlepis hispidus

Size: to 10"

Habitat: wherever the current takes them

Notes: Baby Filefishes of 2"-3" may be found drifting along with clumps of Sargassum weed. They are also found inshore.

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Ocean Sunfish

Ocean Sunfish

Mola mola

Size:
to 10 ft long, 11 ft tall, 4400 lbs,
but usually 4-5 ft long

Habitat:
Open ocean, usually basking near surface. This giant, slow-moving creature flaps along at the surface, propelled by its oar-like dorsal and anal fins and steering with the stump of its tail.

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Puffers, Burrfishes & Trunkfishes

Northern Puffer
Northern Puffer - Sphoeroides maculatus to 14", usually much smaller

Puffers are highly intelligent, traveling in schools, and hunting cooperatively. They prey on anything they can dismember with their powerful parrot-like beaks, including other fishes and crabs. The body is short, fat, and stiff, with a disproportionately large head.

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Goody Bags

goody bag

Goody bags come in several lengths and sizes, but three feet ( yellow mesh ) is by far the handiest and most popular size. Bigger bags are too much of an encumbrance, and if filled to capacity, say with mussels, become too heavy to safely carry underwater.

Goody bags come in a variety of materials. Open nylon mesh is the most common and drains instantly when you exit the water. It is also the best for dragging mussels behind the boat. Canvas is good for spearfishing, as it keeps the fish slime off you, yet still drains reasonably well. It can also have a calming effect on your prey, resulting in less thrashing about. Of course, with a canvas bag, it is more difficult to admire your catch during your hang at the end of the dive. Nylon cloth is used for small tool bags. It is the strongest of all, but drains very poorly. A large nylon bag full of water is a very heavy load to drag up a dive boat ladder.

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Disclaimer:

I make no claim as to the accuracy, validity, or appropriateness of any information found in this website. I will not be responsible for the consequences of any action that is based upon information found here. Scuba diving is an adventure sport, and as always, you alone are responsible for your own safety and well being.

Copyright © 1996-2026 Rich Galiano
unless otherwise noted

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