Triggers, Puffers, & Sunfish ~ 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

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

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

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 - *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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Marine Fishes

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Fishing Regulations

Fish

New Jersey now requires registration for saltwater fishing, including lobsters. Registration is free and can be done online at nj.gov/dep/saltwaterregistry.

This listing is for New Jersey waters only - if you cross into New York or Delaware, or Federal waters ( more than 3 miles offshore, ) you are subject to their regulations. Federal regulations supersede state regulations whenever stricter.

Lobster

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