Wildlife Fact Sheet

Hogfish get their unique name from their long, hog-like nose. Their snout is not just for looks, though—hogfish use it to root around in the sand to find buried mollusks and crustaceans. Because hogfish spend most of the time on the ocean floor, it’s trickier for fishermen to nab them by hook and line. Instead, people resort to spearfishing to catch hogfish. The hogfish is a restaurant favorite with their white, flaky fillet. Hogfish are overfished in part of their range, leading fishery managers to implement size and bag limits for fishermen so that stocks can rebuild.