The Helford River fish

Seahorses, rare gobies, flying fish and sex-changing wrasse; such is the amazing fish life of the small Helford River estuary... The Helford River fish Seahorses, rare gobies, flying fish and sex-changing wrasse; such is the amazing fish life of the relatively small Helford River estuary. The rich sheltered waters are an important nursery ground and in late summer teem with small glittering fishes. The shallow waters offer safety from many predators, though not from egrets and kingfishers; while the mud and plant life is home to tasty shrimps and worms.

Corkwing Wrasse Corkwing Young sea breams mud to grind in their Wrasse and other large also find this estuarine gizzard and digest the fish are often attended environment suits them. organic matter within it. by small wrasse, such as In the last ten years the Goldsinny, which act the young of the warm Some of the residents as cleaners. water Gilthead Sea have colours to rival Bream have appeared; any from the Tropics. The Flying Fish which and in some years The bright Two-spotted in 1828 threw itself small Black Sea Bream Goby hovers among on to a sandy shore are so common that the kelp: the blue and was exceptional, but a they nibble the bait off yellow male Dragonet number of rare fish can anglers’ lines before with a flashing iridescent be found here. they can catch any fish. eye displays its dramatic long fins to the brown Spiny Seahorses are Each summer, shoals female. The salmon occasionally seen of striped Grey Mullet pink of the female among the eelgrass, can be seen cruising Cuckoo Wrasse, even where they, and the estuary and even adorned with smart their relatives the leaping clear of the black and white blotches pipefish, hide to feed water. They follow the along its back, cannot on opossum shrimps rising tide up the shore. match the breath-taking that they suck out of Their small teeth and blue and orange of its passing swarms. rough lips rasp small mate, though in time, Gobies are common creatures, plants, and most females change fishes of the estuary. even bacteria, off the into males. surfaces of weeds and eelgrass; or they may The Cuckoo Wrasse, the simply gulp down almost as colourful Ballan whole mouthfuls of Two Spot Goby ted Two Bass nursery area The silvery Bass is a southern species which grows slowly in local waters. The young fry are first seen in the estuary in early summer, but many will die if their first winter is a cold one. The survivors are aggressive predators thriving as they feed on shrimps, gobies and other small fish, including younger bass. After four or five years, they leave the river for the open coast and the Channel. To protect the valuable bass fishery, no fishing from boats for bass is allowed between May to December inclusive in the Nursery Area of the estuary and the minimum size that can be retained in Cornish waters is currently (2009) 37.5 cm (equivalent to a six year-old fish). Bass

Several types can be recorded(7 cm goby,) found here, from shoals gold-tinged, with 7 to of the tiny Transparent 9 small brown blotches Goby, and camouflaged along its flanks, has Sand Gobies to the since been found in a large Black Gobies, few other localities. which have favoured discarded tyres as Numbers of the nesting sites. One goby European Eel have is very special; Couch’s declined drastically in Goby was unknown to recent years but they science until 1974 when can still be found in the it was first described muddy waters or even from shallow water at under stones or weed Helford. This rarely- on the shore. Spiny Seahorse Spiny Lesser Spotted Dogfish Lesser Shanny helfordmarineconservation.co.uk AreaConservation website www. the Helford Voluntary Marine become involved, lookon andhowthe HVMCA you can For information about further midges”; the Cornish known as “mackerel and silver young are with five), whose green Five-bearded Rockling with three barbels, or Rockling (Shore Rockling brown bewhiskered mouth; the elongate in the corners of its with little white barbels Spined Sea Scorpion Long- butharmless spiky upturned snout; the Pipefish with its short fish – the little Worm a number of fascinating at low water can reveal the weed on the shore A careful search under Text thanksto D. M.Herdson Photograph credits; J. D. Hepburn, Peake, T. Sutton, S. Trewhella projects aimed at increasing public awareness of the oceans’. Aquarium Limited supports marine conservation and education This leaflet has been financed by the National Aquarium Ltd.; ‘National Sponsors the rocks. The small even bite off barnacles andcan small winkles, work ofcrabs and short tough jawsIts make whenoutofwater.skin through itsdampnaked cranny canbreathe weed orinamoist scaleless, andunder on mostshores, isalso commonest blenny The Shanny, through grasping fingers. slime covered, that slips Butterfish, scaleless and head; and the eel-like ”eyes” on the back of its Sucker with two blue sea anemone. bite ornibbleatasty a grab to emerge they crevices; from which from underwater out peeping heads with theirtentacled seen mainly are but be found inrockpools, may TompotBlennies Youngcrest. transverse ornate and spots blue recognised by itspale andcanberockpools coralline in lives mainly Montagu’s Blenny

Worm pipefish Designed by Cornwall Council 24091 0210. Printed on recycled paper