Finescale triggerfish (Balistes polylepis) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over reef, rocky, sand, at depths of 3–50 m.
Scientific name: Balistes polylepis · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 76 cm
The finescale triggerfish (Balistes polylepis) is the only triggerfish normally seen in the cool-temperate eastern Pacific, described by Franz Steindachner in 1876 and named for the 70–75 diagonal rows of small plate-like scales that armour its leathery skin. It is a robust, plain brown or grey fish with lockable dorsal spines, strong fused jaws and a preference for rocky reefs and boulder slopes beside sand at 3–50 m, where it crushes sea urchins, crustaceans and molluscs; adults are demersal and the juveniles pelagic. In the United States it is a southern California species — northern California is the northern limit of a range that runs south to Chile — caught by boat and shore anglers working rocky structure for kelp bass and rockfish, most often on squid or shrimp baits fished tight to the bottom, and it is respected locally for its tough, dogged fight and firm white flesh. American anglers usually simply call it a triggerfish, and no particular fishing season is documented for it in US waters.
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