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Parrotfish are the vivid green, blue and pink reef grazers named for their beak-like fused teeth. In Egypt they are caught only by day among the coral, where they scrape algae off the reef. Bright, abundant and a familiar sight (and catch) on Red Sea reefs.
Mostly taken by spear on the reef; on rod, fish bread or weed/algae on small hooks among the coral by day. A vital reef grazer — consider releasing.
Coral reefs, reef flats, lagoons
Daytime over coral reefs; year-round in warm reef water.
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Light or light rig with small hooks; these are reef grazers, so fish small natural baits.
Bread, dough or algae on a small hook — these grazers won't chase lures.
Eating & safety
Eaten locally, but a vital reef grazer — please consider releasing.
Best conditions: Daytime over coral reefs; year-round in warm reef water.
Parrotfish make sand: they grind up coral to eat the algae and excrete the calcium carbonate — a single fish can produce hundreds of kilos of white sand a year.