Queen Triggerfish, Balistes vetula
Queen Triggerfish, Balistes vetula. Fish caught from coastal waters off Belize, March 2004. Length: 26 cm (10 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.
Queen Triggerfish, Balistes vetula. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, May 2022. Length: 41 cm (16 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.
Queen Triggerfish, Balistes vetula. Fish caught from coastal waters off Hopetown, Bahamas, March 2004. Length: 66 cm (26 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
The Queen Triggerfish, Balistes vetula, is a member of the Triggerfish or Balistidae Family, that is known in Mexico as cochino. Globally, there are seven species in the genus Balistes, three of which are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.
The Queen Triggerfish have robust, compressed, oblong, and relatively deep bodies with a depth that is 52% to 56% of standard length. They are distinctively colored with various shades of purple, green, yellow, and brown on their back and yellow-orange on the lower portions of their head and abdomen. They have two wide oblique bright blue bands extending from their snout to below and in front of their pectoral fins as well as blue lines with yellow borders radiating from their eyes; the lower band is continuous with a blue ring around their lips. They also have a blue bar across their caudal peduncle. The edges of their anal, caudal, and dorsal fins are blue. They have the ability to change colors to adapt to their surroundings or when under stress or breeding. Juveniles are paler in color being gray-brown with blue oblique lines across their head; the sides of their body are dashed with oblique black lines and they also have shorter fins than adults. Their head has a small mouth that opens at the front and is equipped with 8 hefty outer teeth on the upper and lower jaws and small notched teeth that are longer and pointed. They have small eyes that are set well back on top of their head. Their anal fin lacks spines and has 27 to 29 rays; their caudal fin is doubly concave and crescent-shaped and has long trailing filaments; their first dorsal fin has 3 spines and the first spine is very elongated and can be locked erect; their second dorsal fin has 29 to 32 rays. Both anal and dorsal rays are elongated and taper posteriorly. They are covered with scales and thick leathery skin. Their lateral line is inconspicuous.
The Queen Triggerfish are typically a demersal shallow water species found off-shore within coral and rocky reefs adjacent to sandy and seagrass beds at depths up to 30 m (100 feet) but on occasion they can also be found at depths up to 275 m (900 feet). They reach a maximum 60 cm (24 inches) in length and 6.2 kg (13.6 lbs) in weight with males and females being of similar size. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 6.44 kg (14 lbs 3 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Cancun, Quintana Roo, in January 2009. They are found either as solitary individuals or in small groups. Adults are found in deeper waters than juveniles. They are active diurnally and feed primarily on benthic invertebrates including bivalves, crabs, macroalgae, polychaete worms, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, shrimp, and starfish. At night, they wedge themselves into crevices within the reef for protection from predation. They are preyed upon by larger reef fish including groupers, jacks, and sharks. They have the ability to produce sound which is believed to be used for communication. Reproduction is oviparous and occurs in harems of one male and up to six females. Males prepare up to a dozen nests in hollows blown out of sandy seabed and then patrol the area, driving unwanted fish away. Females can release eggs in the nests throughout the year and these eggs are then fertilized by males. The eggs are protected by both parents and the hatched larvae become pelagic. They have lifespans of up to sixteen years.
The Queen Triggerfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
The Queen Triggerfish is an easy fish to identify due to the pattern of blue bands on its head and caudal fin base, thus cannot be confused with any other species .
From a conservation perspective they are currently considered Vulnerable due to overfishing with steady declines in catch levels since 1990. They are unprotected within the ranges where they are under heavy fishing pressure. The Queen Triggerfish are caught by both commercial and recreational fishermen. They are taken commercially by hook and line, longlines, bottom trawls, and traps and recreationally by hook-and-line and spear fishermen. They are considered an excellent food fish, however, there are reports that they are poisonous. A word of caution: these guys can BITE! Due to their beauty and fun and interesting personality, they are found in public aquariums. They can be purchased directly from the internet with prices approaching $149.99 per fish. However, they are not suitable for small aquariums due to their aggressive behavior, need for hiding places, and large size. When encountered by divers that are shy and quickly depart, however, they are aggressive during breeding season. Parts of the Queen Triggerfish are used in traditional medicine in certain parts of Brazil for the treatment of asthma, earaches, and stroke.