The Wolf Fish or Anarhichas lupus is at the southern edge of its range around our north-eastern coasts. It can grow to over a metre in length and once mature, it adopts an unusual blue colour- immatures are a banded grey. The Wolf Fish is a powerful, elongated fish with a dorsal fin extending the whole length of its body. Its fearsome set of teeth are used for smashing up shellfish and sea urchins and the whole of the inside of the mouth is made up of grinding molars. Caught commercially and marketed in the north of Britain as Scotch Halibut and Scarborough Woof, the flesh is excellent quality. However, it is always sold skinned and beheaded for obvious reasons. The skin can be turned into a type of leather and is used for making small personal items such as wallets and purses. See my separate Wolf Fish Gallery for more on this spectacular fish.

Location: North Sea. St. Abbs Marine Reserve