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Dieren en planten

Fish   Rockfish   Redfish   Tub gurnard   Grey gurnard   Fish biology   Reproduction of fish   Nurseries   

Mens en Milieu

Water   Seawater   Fisheries   Fishery techniques   Beam-trawl fisheries   By-catch   
  • Dut: Grauwe poon (grauwe zeehaan, kleine poon, kleine zeehaan, knorhaantje, knorhaan, spoon)
  • Lat: Eutrigla gurnardus
  • Eng: Grey gurnard
  • Ger: Grauer Knurrhahn
  • Fren: Grondin (trigle, grondin gris)
  • Dan: Gri knurhane
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Grey gurnard, Ecomare

Grey gurnard

The grey gurnard is the most common species of gurnard in the North Sea. In the summer, they stay in massive numbers in the shallow southern North Sea. When it gets colder, they move to warmer water. The grey gurnard is a benthic inhabitant and is often caught as by-catch with other benthic fish (plaice, sole). The grey gurnard itself has hardly any commercial value.

  • Many gurnards, few herring?

    Grey gurnards feed on shrimp, other small crustaceans and small fish (including young whiting and herring). They can grow up to 50 centimeters, although most of those caught are 20 centimeters. Since the grey gurnard is fairly common and eat lots of young herring, the fishery biologists suspect that this species could have an important effect on the North Sea stock of, for example, herring.