Ballan Wrasse

The ballan wrasse is a large, heavy bodied wrasse with a relatively deep body and large head. It has a smallish mouth which is surrounded by thick, fleshy, rather wrinkled lips, and the jaws are armed with a single row of robust teeth which are sharp and pointed in young fish but blunter and more worn in older fish. It has a long dorsal fin which has 18–21 spines in its anterior portion and 9–13 branched rays in the rear part. The anal fin is markedly shorter and has three spines. It has large scales with 41–47 of them in the lateral line. The juvenile fish are coloured to match their habitat and vary in from light green to dark green, with some being described as bright emerald green.

Ballan wrasse are native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean from Norway to Morocco, including the islands of Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands. There are records from the Mediterranean Sea but these are regarded as questionable and may be misidentifications of the brown wrasse (Labrus merula).

This species is popular as a food fish in the Orkney Islands off the north-eastern coast of Scotland, and in Galway, a county in the west of Ireland. However, it is not highly regarded as a food fish in much of the UK and Ireland. In recent years, it has become a popular catch-and-release target for sport fishermen using light fishing tackle, particularly those employing soft plastic lures.