Tilefish

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Q 1.
	Off Fort Lauderdale, I caught a tilefish at a depth of 550 feet. This is the first one I have ever seen. Are they common?
Q 2.
	We catch tilefish in about 600 feet of water off our key, and have been getting two types. One has a yellowish cast to its lower body with distinct spots and a small spine on its head, while the other is not so yellow and has neither the spots nor the spine. Are there two different species of tilefish?
Q 3.
	We have been catching tilefish at a depth of 600 feet off the Florida Keys, and have noticed that there are two distinct varieties. One has a yellowish coloration on its lower body with distinct yellow spots and a small flap on the head, while the other is not so yellow and has neither spots nor flaps. Are these two different species of tilefish?


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	Q&A 1.	Off Fort Lauderdale, I caught a tilefish at a depth of 550 feet. This is the first one I have ever seen. Are they common? Fort Lauderdale, Florida
	The tilefish occurs mainly on the upper part of the Continental Slope from New England to southern Florida. It is more common in the north. The fish is good to eat and was once the subject of a considerable fishery. A natural disaster killed hundreds of millions of tilefish in 1882. The dead fish were estimated to cover an area of more than 5,000 square miles. One estimate indicated that the dead fish could have provided 200 pounds of fish for every person in the United States at that time. The reasons for the tilefish disaster are unclear. A sudden change in the water temperature at the depth where they lived could have been responsible. Such a change might have been produced by underwater waves. Volcanic or earthquake activity could have been responsible. In any case the tilefish has come back and is now caught commonly.
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	Q&A 2.	We catch tilefish in about 600 feet of water off our key, and have been getting two types. One has a yellowish cast to its lower body with distinct spots and a small spine on its head, while the other is not so yellow and has neither the spots nor the spine. Are there two different species of tilefish? Summerland Key, Florida
	The only species of tilefish found in South Florida and Bahamian waters is the sand tilefish, Malacanthus plumieri. Its external appearance and habits are unique, resembling no other species in these waters. The young sand tilefish is quite distinct from the adult; it is spiny all over the head, whereas the adult has one opercular spine. Without seeing and comparing the two fish, it is hard to say what has happened; perhaps the spine was lost in some way – this species excavates extensive burrows at the edge of grassbeds and, when disturbed, enters the burrow headfirst. Coloration cannot be used as a reliable indicator of species difference because it is so highly variable.
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	Q&A 3.	We have been catching tilefish at a depth of 600 feet off the Florida Keys, and have noticed that there are two distinct varieties. One has a yellowish coloration on its lower body with distinct yellow spots and a small flap on the head, while the other is not so yellow and has neither spots nor flaps. Are these two different species of tilefish? Summerland Key, Florida
	There are basically three types of tilefish (family Branchiostegidae) that are currently recognized as inhabitants of western Atlantic waters. The first two are found in deep water from about 300 to 1,200 feet. These are the species Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps, known simply as the tilefish; and several species in the genus Caulolatilus, such as C. cyanops, commonly called the blackline tilefish. L. chamaeleonticeps is the largest and commercially most important species (see “Long-lining for Tilefish,” Sea Frontiers, Vol. 24, No. 6, November-December, 1978). This is the first type that you describe is a species of Caulolatilus, which is taken by Florida fishermen using weighted lines in about 400 to 700 feet of water. Both types of tilefish make excellent eating, either fresh or smoked. A third type of tilefish found in Florida waters is the sand tilefish (Malancanthus plumieri). In contrast to its larger deeper-dwelling relatives, the sand tilefish is a slim, almost eel-like fish averaging one foot in length, and is restricted to sandy areas and grass beds rarely deeper than 50 feet. About half a dozen distinct species occur in the West Indies, the Gulf of Mexico, and along the southeastern Atlantic states.
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