The Parrot Fish in Fuerteventura
A brief look at the parrot fish that swim in the waters around Fuerteventura, better known locally as Vieja or the old ones.
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The waters around Fuertentura are teaming with life. One that is always a great sight to see is the Parrot Fish or vieja.
An article by Hannah Mackay with The Voice Fuerteventura
Parrot Fish in the Canary Islands
Parrot fish are one of the most famous species of fish in the Canary Islands and one of the most abundant species here. They hang about in groups similar to that of a harem with a dominant male presiding over them. But they have a very special trait, as when that particular dominant male leaves the group, the largest female from the harem will, over a few weeks, change her sex to become a male. Therefore gaining dominance over the rest of the females.
Where to find Parrot Fish
They group together to feed over the rocky bottoms and the female is characterised by her bright colours of red, yellow and blue. The males, however, are a drab greyish brown colour. They like to live in rocky bottoms that run from the shoreline down to depths of 50 meters, and due to their diet here, they can grow up to 50cm in length. They mainly feed on seaweeds and invertebrates, especially crabs.
Why are they called Parrot Fish?
They get their names due to their jaws being fused together like a beak with teeth on both jaws lines. They also have a grinding plate which allows them to grind up materials that are taken into the mouth before being ingested. Due to this, they play a large part in bio-erosion as they bite and grind up reefs. When they do this, they then excrete the coral and rock, as they cannot metabolise it, and it comes out as sand. They mainly do this as a way of keeping their beaks clean and trimmed. 75% of the seabed material is expelled ingested reef rock, basically Parrot Fish Poop! And just one Parrot fish can produce 100 kg of sand every year.
As a species they enshroud themselves in a mucus bubble which they blow from their mouths. This forms a protection bubble that keeps both parasites and predators at bay. Unfortunatley this does not work for the fisherman, and Parrot Fish or “Viejas” often find their way onto the dinner table.
