Butterfish (market name)

Ruvettus pretiosus, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum

Other names

rough-skin oilfish (R. pretiosus), escolar or smooth skinned (L. flavobrunneum)

SASSI Colour

Green

Biological Information

Belong to the Family Gempylidae or "snake mackerels" which includes snoek and ribbon snoek

Habitat

Warmer waters and open ocean

Distribution

All

Capture Methods

Oilfish and escolar are caught as a bycatch on tuna longlines

Conservation Notes

Butterfish is a market name used for the so-called oilfishes, that are caught as bycatch with no directed fishing effort. These fish, especially Ruvettus have high oil levels in their flesh with sometimes severe purgative properties. Butterfish is a name also used for members of the family Stromateidae though this name does not apply in the seafood market (see Bluefish)

tags green, oilfish, sassi, fish database,