A recent catch by a Florida angler has led some people to comment that the peculiar-looking fish resembles a flour tortilla.
Thomas Bosworth landed the roundish white fish with brown speckles and did not recognize what he had caught so he sent a photo to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The FWC identified the fish as an orange filefish, a species rarely hooked by anglers but sometimes collected by divers for the aquarium trade.
It turns out that orange filefish are not always orange. Among the most popular comments on the FWC’s Facebook post was from Vanessa Griego: “I shall call it… tortilla fish!”
Griego included a photo of a tortilla and the coloration was, indeed, similar.
At least one other comment referenced the “tortilla” likeness.
The FWC congratulated Bosworth for releasing the fish, advising anglers: “If you can’t identity your fish, release it… just like Thomas did.”
According to the Florida Museum, orange filefish can be orangish-yellow, olive gray, or milky white. They do not make good table fare and, in fact, have been associated with cases of ciguatera poisoning.
They’re rarely caught by anglers because they typically feed on algae, seagrass, and other vegetation.
Orange filefish, which can measure about 24 inches, are found throughout much of the western Atlantic and in portions of the eastern Atlantic.
Reads another comment beneath the FWC Facebook post: “Ya just never know what you gonna pull up.”
