Real Bastard Trumpeter

Interesting Info

• The Real Bastard Trumpeter is a slender, silvery-green fish with narrow brown lines running along its sides.
• In Australia it is found mainly around eastern and southern Tasmania, schooling over shallow rocky reefs and surge channels.
• Worldwide it occurs in New Zealand, Chile, Gough Island, and the subantarctic St Paul and Amsterdam Islands.
• It grows to about 40 cm (16 in) in length, making it much smaller than true trumpeters like the Striped Trumpeter.
• Juveniles gather in tide pools and kelp beds, while adults form schools over exposed reefs and steep drop-offs.
• They live in shallow waters from the surface down to about 20 m (66 ft), where wave surge brings in plankton.
• Real Bastard Trumpeters feed on plankton, projecting their mouth forward like a tube to suck in tiny prey.
• Fast and agile, they swim in tight schools that flash silver and green in the surf zone.
• They have even been seen hiding inside drifting salps, barrel-shaped jelly-like animals that float in the ocean and filter tiny plankton from the water.
• Unlike their deep-water relatives, they grow fairly quickly and mature within just a few years.
• Their lifespan is shorter than true trumpeters—estimated at around 8–12 years.
• Predators include larger reef fishes, fur seals, and seabirds that strike when they school near the surface.
• Although edible, their flesh is soft and considered lower quality compared to the prized Striped Trumpeter.
• They are common and resilient, not targeted by major fisheries, and currently listed as Least Concern.
• By feeding mid-water on plankton, they help transfer energy from drifting ocean life to coastal reef ecosystems.