mirror dory
Zenopsis nebulosa · Zeidae · predator
Deep-sea bottom fish with a deep body, reaching 70 cm and up to 3 kg. Its flesh is highly prized, and it is used in commercial fishing.
Also called: peixe-espelho, mirror dory
- maximum
- 70 cm
- record/max.
- 3.0 kg
- depth
- 50–600 m
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
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.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the mirror dory
who is the mirror dory
The family Zeidae (dories) includes deep-bodied, laterally compressed fish, typical of shelf and slope bottoms. This species reaches 70 cm and 3 kg, and lives in the Indo-Pacific, from Japan to Australia and New Zealand, and in the eastern Pacific, off California and on the Nazca seamounts, in Peru. In Latin America it is recorded from Chile and Peru. It usually lives alone, near the bottom, generally from 50 to 600 m, and is commercially fished. It is a highly prized food fish.
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 mirror dory.
fun facts
- It can live up to 45 years.
identification
Deep, laterally compressed body, silvery as a mirror, with a large head and mouth. It is a bottom fish, generally from 50 to 600 m, that lives alone. Its deep body and large mouth help identify it among other bottom fish of Chile and Peru.
where found
Species of the Indo-Pacific (Japan, Australia, New Zealand) and of the eastern Pacific (California and the Nazca seamounts, in Peru). In Latin America it is recorded from Chile and Peru, on bottoms of 50 to 600 m. There are no records off the Brazilian coast.
Habitat: Shelf and slope bottoms, generally from 50 to 600 m.
rules for the mirror dory
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.
Harmless to anglers. Because it lives on deep bottoms, rapid ascent can cause barotrauma: release it carefully.
in the kitchen
Excellent-quality flesh, highly prized as food and sold through commercial fishing.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01622, b = 2.93; 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
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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: Zenopsis nebulosa (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Zenopsis nebulosaNames by country and language.
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: