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Fish4Life provides everything you need to enjoy seafood responsibly. Explore information and practical tips for safe and sustainable seafood consumption, and help protect marine life by reporting undersized or illegally traded seafood.

Red scorpionfish
Scorpaena scrofa
Κόκκινoσκορπίνα

Sustainability Status

Currently considered sustainable

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Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Legal

Minimum Size

–

Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

29 cm

Avoid Consumption Period

May – August

Advice for Consumption

Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable.

Greek legislation does not establish legal minimum size and no closed season, leaving juvenile and spawning fish completely unprotected.

Choose responsibly by respecting sustainable size limits and avoiding consumption during the breeding season.

Archipelagos Tips

Choosing larger, mature fish helps reduce fishing pressure on juvenile individuals.

Common names

FR

Chapon

it

Scorfano rosso

es

Cabracho

tr

Adabeyi

pt

Rascasso-vermelho

nl

Rode schorpioenvis

de

Großer Drachenkopf

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.
The dorsal spine can inflict painful sting, be careful when handling them.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

Usually red to reddish body and fins with darker marbling. Coloration can vary depending on the region, with some having yellowish or pink tones. Has a massive head covered in small spines. Flabs of skin or fleshy appendices resembling seaweed are on some of the spines, under the lower jaw and the lateral line.

It looks like Scorpaena porcus (Black scorpionfish), which has similar characteristics like venomous spines and a preference for rocky bottoms, but differ in size, color, and specific habitat preferences.

Did you know?

Red scorpionfish are solidary, camouflaged fish with spines that have a potent venom that is one of the most powerful in the ocean and potentially fatal!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Carnivorous.
Feeds on fish and benthic invertebrates.

habitat

Benthic.
Solitary and sedentary over rocky, sandy or muddy bottoms.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 50 cm
Max weight: 3 kg
Depth range: 20-500 m

breeding & Growth

The breeding season primarily occurs during the summer months, typically from May to August (peaking around June to July). They are batch spawners that release their pelagic eggs in a single, large buoyant gelatinous matrix at night.
Growth rate: Slow (k = 0.11yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 20-25 years
Max reported age: 25 years
Distribution: British Isles (rare) to Senegal including Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. Also throughout the Mediterranean except Black Sea.

appearance changes

It utilizes rapid color-changing abilities and physical adaptations to achieve near-flawless camouflage. These changes are critical for an ambush predator, allowing it to perfectly blend into the varied rocky, sandy, or vegetated Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic seabed.

Reproductive Cycle

A female can produce tens of thousands of eggs (roughly 15,000 to over 100,000 depending on her size) and spawns multiple times in a single year. In the Mediterranean, this species exhibits continuous spawning over an extended period.
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Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Illegal species – Fishing, selling and consumption of this species is illegal

Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation

Think before you eat – This species faces increasing pressures and should only be consumed responsibly

Bad choice – Consumption of this species is unsustainable

Health concerns –
Can accumulate dangerously high levels of toxic substances harmful to health

Alien / Invasive – This species is not from this region and can have a negative impact on the ecosystem and threaten local biodiversity, so it is sustainable to eat

Aquafarms – You will commonly find this species coming from aquafarms