A Rare Visitor in the Kelp Forest - Kilmarnock Sub Aqua Club

by Frank Johnston

Our party arrived at Meanish Pier, Loch Pooltiel, Skye, for a couple of shore dives. The weather was far from ideal, with strong winds and persistent rain, but that wasn’t going to stop us getting in the water.

For our first dive, I was paired with Dean. We soon located the wall and began a slow descent. At around 10 metres, while scanning through the kelp, I caught sight of a strange-looking fish partially hidden amongst the fronds. I quickly pointed it out to Dean.

My first thought was that it might be a Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus). After posting the photograph on Sea Search, this identification was confirmed by the experts.

It was a particularly satisfying find, as this is only the third Lumpfish I have encountered in more than 20 years of diving.

Lumpfish are fascinating creatures. Although they typically inhabit depths of between 50 and 300 metres, they move into shallower coastal waters during spring to breed. The males fiercely guard their eggs and develop a striking reddish-orange colour during the breeding season. They can live for up to 13 years, with the deepest recorded sighting being an impressive 868 metres.

Their diet consists mainly of small prawns, worms, comb jellies and tiny fish. Young Lumpfish are also widely used in salmon aquaculture, where they act as cleaner fish by naturally feeding on sea lice and helping to protect farmed salmon.

The lumpfish is quite distinctive, with a rounded, almost “alien” appearance and a strong adhesive disc on its underside, which it uses to cling onto rocks and kelp in challenging conditions. Interestingly, its eggs are also harvested and sold as a caviar substitute, often marketed simply as lumpfish caviar

Although they can appear rather awkward when swimming, smaller Lumpfish are sometimes found in rock pools at low tide. Their unusual shape and appearance make them one of the more distinctive fish found in UK waters.

I was fortunate not only to find this unusual fish but also to photograph and film it. Encounters like this are a reminder that no matter how many years you’ve been diving, there’s always something new and exciting waiting to be discovered beneath the surface.

If you are lucky enough to encounter a Lumpfish yourself, don’t be put off by its unusual appearance. They are completely harmless. Always a great privilege to share the water with such a remarkable creature.

I hope you enjoy the video below.