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catalog Labridae · predator

hogfish

Lachnolaimus maximus

SeaIUCN global: VU · vulnerable

A tall, arched wrasse with a long snout and first dorsal spines drawn out into threads. It lives on Caribbean reefs, eats mollusks and is highly prized as food. Vulnerable on the global assessment.

Also called: bodião-porco, hogfish

forecast for hogfish where found
Scientific illustration of Hogfish
common size
30–40 cm
maximum
91 cm
common weight
0.5–1.2 kg
record/max.
11.0 kg
depth
3–30 m
ideal water
24–29 °C
overview

who is the hogfish

The bodião-porco (hogfish) is a large, valuable wrasse: it reaches 91 cm and 11 kg, with a common length of 35 cm. It lives on open bottoms and reefs, from 3 to 30 m, often where gorgonians grow, from Canada and Bermuda to the northern Gulf of Mexico and tropical South America. It eats mainly mollusks, plus crabs and sea urchins. It is a protogynous hermaphrodite: born female, it forms harems and later becomes male. Its meat is highly prized. It reaches Brazil only in recent, rare records. The IUCN assesses it as Vulnerable.

fun facts

  • It is a monandric protogynous hermaphrodite: all are born female and only later do some become male, usually between 30 and 40 cm.
  • FishBase records a maximum age of 23 years.
  • It has been raised in captivity.
how to recognize it

identification

Tall-bodied wrasse with a strongly arched dorsal profile and a long snout. The first three dorsal spines are elongated into filaments, and it is the only wrasse in the Atlantic with that dorsal fin and profile. Color varies, usually reddish or brown with spots, and a black blotch at the rear base of the dorsal fin. Dorsal fin with 14 spines and 11 soft rays; anal fin with 3 spines and 10 rays.

how hogfish fishing looks

Loading the next 7 days…

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.

distribution

where found

open on the large map

The species is from the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic, from Canada and Bermuda to the northern Gulf of Mexico, the Antilles and northern South America. Recent, rare records, based on collection specimens, photos and reports from fishers and divers, confirmed the species near the Brazilian coast (Sampaio et al., 2016), but FishBase does not list it in Brazil and GBIF has no Brazilian record.

Habitat: Open bottoms and coral reef areas, from 3 to 30 m, often where gorgonians grow. Adults in harems.

calendar and clock

when to fish

best season

time of yearbest: Mar–Apr
JanFebSeaAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

There is no well-documented fishing seasonality; it is fishable all year where the species occurs, with more comfort in calm seas and clear water.

best time of day

0h6h12h18h sunrise ~6amsunset ~6pm

Daytime. Hunts mollusks and crustaceans by day, turning over the bottom next to gorgonians and rocks.

weather, water and behavior

what affects the hogfish
sensitivity The little bars show how much each factor affects this species. Five full: it feels it a lot.

cold and cold fronts

Cold water from a front pushes the fish off the shallow reefs.

atmospheric pressure

Little direct effect; choppy seas after the front get in the way of fishing.

moon

Small effect.

rain

Not very relevant at sea.

water level

Follows the tide over the reefs and flat rock.

noise

Wary of shadow and noise; approach slowly.

wind

Rough seas rule out boat fishing and spearfishing.

tide

Moderate current during the tide change brings food and activates the fish.

depth

From 3 to 30 m, usually on reefs and sand-and-rock bottoms with gorgonians.

technique, gear and bait

how to fish

Bottom fishing from a boatNatural bait on the bottomSpearfishing
rod
6'0" to 7'0", 15 to 30 lb
spinning / baitcasting reel
spinning reel 4000 to 5000 or baitcasting reel 200
line
braid 20 to 30 lb
leader
fluorocarbon 30 to 40 lb, 1 m
hook
circle 1/0 to 3/0

lures

  • small jig 20 to 60 g

natural baits

  • shrimp
  • small crab
  • squid strips
  • marisco

accessories

  • sinker of 30 to 100 g
  • descender (fish descender)
  • alicate

tip from an angler

Small natural bait close to the bottom, beside gorgonians and flat rock. The species is vulnerable: keep only what you will eat and release the small fish.

what the law says

rules for the hogfish

Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: Vulnerable (VU, criterion A2bd) in the 2009 global assessment. Not on the Brazilian national list (Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026). There is an ICMBio national assessment record in SALVE.

Puerto Rico (federal waters): up to 5 per person per day, counting the reef fish group combined

5 per person per day; 15 per boat with 3 or more people, counting the whole group

In federal waters around Puerto Rico, starting 9 miles from shore, the bodião-porco (hogfish) falls into a reef fish group that also includes angelfish, grunts, jacks, surgeonfish, triggerfish and other wrasses, with a combined limit of 5 per person per day (15 per boat when 3 or more people are on board), and no more than 1 surgeonfish per person. The quota does not apply to holders of a Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands commercial license. Inside 9 miles, DRNA rules apply, and in Reglamento 7949 (2010), which we read, there is no specific rule for the species.

Source: 50 CFR 622.444(a)(2) (NOAA Fisheries, US)

Mexico: up to 10 marine fish per angler per day, no more than 5 of the same species

10 marine specimens per angler per day; no more than 5 of the same species

In Mexico's federal waters, sport and recreational fishing for marine species has a limit of 10 specimens per angler per day, with no more than 5 of any one species. Fish over the limit may only be taken if released alive. Sport-caught fish belong to the permit holder and may not be sold; fish may not be landed as fillets (they may only be filleted on board for consumption during the trip). For spearfishing the limit is 5 fish per day. Fishing from a boat requires a permit.

Source: Amendment to NOM-017-PESC-1994 (recreational sport fishing in federal waters of Mexico), signed Oct 14, 2013 and published in the DOF on Nov 25, 2013, items 4.9.1, 4.9.4, 4.9.5, 4.11 and 4.12 (Sagarpa/Conapesca)

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.

A fish from 3 to 30 m comes up with little decompression: release it quickly, with wet hands. If it arrives with barotrauma, release it with a descender. Prefer releasing small fish, which have not yet spawned.

in the kitchen

Highly prized meat, sold fresh and frozen (FishBase). FishBase records ciguatera cases: on the Caribbean, ask local fishers about the area's history.

calculator

how much it weighs without taking it out of the water

Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.02188, b = 2.96; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.

estimated weight

—

sources and references

The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.

  1. scientific FishBase: Lachnolaimus maximus (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology and IUCN status. Page checked Oct 13, 2026. The common weight was calculated from the length-weight relationship.
  2. scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Lachnolaimus maximusNames by country and language. FishBase gives no Portuguese name: 'bodião-porco' is an editorial label (the bodião wrasse group, in Portuguese, plus the translation of 'hogfish'), not an established name in Brazil. This profile avoids 'peixe-porco', which in Brazil refers to the baiacus of the genus Balistes.
  3. scientific IUCN Red List: Lachnolaimus maximus (avaliação global: Vulnerável, VU (A2bd), 04/02/2009)Global assessment. Link given on the FishBase entry (Red List, version 2025-2).
  4. official ICMBio/SALVE: Ficha de Lachnolaimus maximus (avaliação nacional do risco de extinção)Record from the ICMBio national assessment in the SALVE system; the DOI was checked on Crossref. The national category should be confirmed on the record itself: the species is not in Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026.
  5. scientific Sampaio, C. L. S.; Santander-Neto, J.; Costa, T. L. A. (2016). Hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus (Labridae) confirmed in the south-western Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Fish Biology 89(3): 1873-1879.DOI checked on Crossref. The abstract (read in a repository) confirms the species in the southwestern Atlantic, near the Brazilian coast, based on collection specimens, photos and reports from fishers and divers, and extends the known range by about 3,000 km.
  6. scientific GBIF: registros de Lachnolaimus maximus no BrasilChecked Oct 13, 2026 in GBIF's open database (country = Brazil). Records come from collections and observations and show where the species has been seen, not how abundant it is. There is no Brazilian collection record in GBIF.
  7. scientific Carpenter, K. E. (org.) (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Roma: FAO.Reference identification guide for the western Atlantic (Labridae chapter).
  8. official Code of Federal Regulations, 50 CFR 622.431 e 622.444: Porto Rico (NOAA Fisheries, EUA)Consolidated text in the eCFR, checked Oct 13, 2026: the reef fish table in §622.431 lists Lachnolaimus maximus (hogfish) among the wrasses, and §622.444(a)(2) sets the group's combined limit. The rule consulted has no federal minimum size for the species.
  9. official Modificação da NOM-017-PESC-1994, para regular a pesca deportivo-recreativa nas águas de jurisdição federal do México (DOF, 25/11/2013)Text read in the DOF: items 4.2 to 4.12 (quotas, underwater fishing, sales and fillets).
don't confuse

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