Yellow Cod

Parapercis gilliesi (family Pinguipedidae)

We recently received several pictures from Kathy Guard of an unusual fish caught while fishing off the Kaikoura Coast. We had a fair idea which species the fish belonged to but decided to check and be certain of our identification.

So we sent the pictures to Dr Clive Roberts who is the Curator of Fishes at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, in Wellington. Dr Roberts confirmed that it was a yellow cod, also known as yellow weaver. The scientific name is Parapercis gilliesi (family Pinguipedidae). It is a slightly deeper water relative of the blue cod, usually being taken at 60-350 m depth.

Many thanks to Dr Roberts for helping out with the identification.

I know that many species of fish, cod in particular, can look quite different at certain stages of their life cycle. Many fish have bright colours when first caught but these soon fade after capture. If you do catch a fish that you are unsure about try to take a photograph of it as soon as it comes aboard.

Special thanks to Kathy Guard for sending in the pictures.