sculptured sea catfish
Notarius kessleri
Sea catfish with a long, thick body, reaching 45 cm, living on the coast of Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama. It has spines that wound and is sold fresh.
Also called: bagre-esculpido, bagre esculpido, sculptured sea catfish
- maximum
- 45 cm
who is the sculptured sea catfish
Fish of the family Ariidae, a sea catfish with a long, thick body, reaching 45 cm, with a common size of 40 cm. It lives in bottom coastal waters, from Mexico to Panama, with records in Costa Rica. It is also caught with other artisanal gear. It has a narrow head and narrow snout, and white barbels with dark edges. It has spines that wound and is caught in commercial fishing, with little prominence in sport fishing. It is sold fresh.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the sculptured sea catfish; in the meantime, see the similar species.
identification
Long, thick body, bright blue-green on the back, with a paler or white belly. Narrow, flattened head, narrow rounded snout, and small eyes. White barbels with dark edges. To tell it from the chili catfish, look at the head: here it is narrow and the snout is narrow; there the snout is prominent and the mouth is large.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
where found
Eastern Pacific, from Mexico to Panama, with records in Costa Rica, in bottom coastal waters.
Habitat: Bottom coastal waters, marine and brackish.
rules for the sculptured sea catfish
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
The fin spines wound. Hold it carefully, with a cloth or glove, when removing the hook.
in the kitchen
Sold fresh.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00468, b = 3.13; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Notarius kessleri (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Notarius kessleriNames by country and language.
