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Edible Lizard Fish in Florida

There are two well-known edible species of lizardfish in Florida: offshore lizardfish and onshore lizardfish. The offshore lizardfish is a smaller species and found throughout Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. The inshore lizardfish, which is usually 15 to 16 inches long, is found in the coastal areas of Florida. The largest recorded inshore lizardfish weighed 2 lbs.

  1. Appearance

    • Except for their coloring, the inshore and offshore lizardfish look very similar, and both have a set of sharp teeth. Both these lizardfish are brown with dark diamond-shaped blotches, but the offshore is colored a little darker. The offshore species has a larger mouth than the inshore lizardfish and a blunter head. The inshore lizard is also 3 or 4 inches smaller than the offshore lizardfish. It is also referred to by the names galliwasp, lagarto and sand pike.

    Fishing for Lizardfish

    • Florida fishermen usually don't purposely catch lizardfish; in fact, lizardfish are nuisances and often tackle bait of any size. There are no state limits or regulations concerning catching lizardfish in Florida. Neither species is generally thought to have a desirable taste. Both are bonier than species of fish fishermen usually fish for, and both go after any kind of live or dead bait or artificial lure with determination. When they are caught in trawls they are usually discarded.

    Habitat

    • Both species of lizardfish prefer living at the bottom of their habitats and are therefore subject to harm from bottom trawling, which indiscriminately scoops up species that prefer to stay at the bottom of the ocean. According to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, which is comprised of more than 40 conservation groups around the world, studies have shown that species including the lizardfish are harmed by the trawling activity that takes place offshore and in coastal areas of Florida. Trawling the seabed reduces habitat complexity, productivity and biological diversity.

    Lizardfish Diet

    • A study of stomach contents of the inshore lizardfish showed that its diet consists of many species of fish, prey and predator. Stomach contents identified 17 species that made up the inshore lizardfish's primary diet. Some of the fish found to eaten by the inshore lizardfish were its predators. The diet of the lizardfish varies according to the abundance of species and the size of the lizardfish. Its diet is not restricted to its own habitat, but prey from sand bottom and midwater habitats were the most common.

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