Species

Shorthorn sculpin

A bulky bottom fish with a large spiny head and a huge mouth, also called bull-rout or father-lasher. A common catch around rocks, piers and harbour walls in the North Sea and Baltic, not venomous but spiny.

Myoxocephalus scorpius

Photo: Cephas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, adjusted to 3:2

Spawning: In winter, December to March according to English Wikipedia. About 2,500 eggs are laid in a clump between stones and guarded by the male; larvae hatch after about 5 weeks (German and English Wikipedia, FishBase). Mature at 2 years (German Wikipedia); FishBase gives 17.8 cm as mean length at first maturity (range 15 to 30 cm).
Typical method: Bottom fishing from piers, harbour walls and rock armour (rule of thumb)
Top bait: Ragworm

Plan a day fishing for Shorthorn sculpin

How to recognise it

Large, broad, spiny head with a very large mouth, body tapering towards the tail
Greenish brown to grey with dark blotches, often milky white spots above the pectoral fins; fins with dark bands (FishBase)
Belly cherry red in males and light orange in females, both with white spots; preopercle spiny, the longest spine not reaching the edge of the gill cover (FishBase, German Wikipedia)

Easily confused with: The long-spined sea scorpion (Taurulus bubalis) is smaller and has a longer preopercular spine that reaches the edge of the gill cover (rule of thumb; distinguishing feature after German Wikipedia). The shorthorn sculpin itself is not venomous but can be mistaken for venomous scorpionfish (English Wikipedia).

How to catch it

Methods: Bottom fishing from piers, harbour walls and rock armour (rule of thumb), Light bottom rig close to rocks and weed (rule of thumb), Night fishing, as it is mostly nocturnal (German Wikipedia), Unhook carefully and mind the gill cover spines (rule of thumb)

Baits: Ragworm, Lugworm, Fish strip, Shrimp, Crab

In the cold season, as the shorthorn sculpin tolerates cold well and spawns inshore in winter (English and German Wikipedia); preferably at night (German Wikipedia).

Habitat and food

North Atlantic and Arctic: from southeast Greenland, Jan Mayen and Iceland via the British Isles to the Bay of Biscay, the North Sea, Baltic, Spitsbergen and the southern Barents Sea with the White Sea; in the west from James Bay to New York (FishBase). Lives on rock with sand or mud and among seaweed, from 0 to 451 m (FishBase, English Wikipedia); German Wikipedia gives down to 200 m. Also occurs in the brackish Baltic and survives temperatures around freezing thanks to antifreeze proteins (English Wikipedia).

Fish, larger crustaceans, occasionally bristle worms and amphipods (FishBase, German Wikipedia). A mostly nocturnal predator (German Wikipedia).

Size and age

FishBase: max. 78.0 cm (total length), common 24.0 cm (standard length), maximum age 18 years. German and English Wikipedia give up to 60 cm, the largest fish in the Arctic and subarctic (English Wikipedia). The sources differ on maximum length.

Protection and rules

Conservation status: IUCN: Least Concern (assessed 2023; FishBase). Not listed in the German coastal regulations: neither Annex 1 KüFVO Schleswig-Holstein nor § 4 KüFVO M-V or § 6 NKüFischO Lower Saxony; no EU rule for anglers (Regulation (EU) 2026/249). Minimum sizes and closed seasons are set by each country and region; checked on 21 Oct 2026. Males guard the eggs in winter: release fish caught at that time (rule of thumb).

We found no minimum size or closed season for this species in any state fisheries regulation. Local water rules may still apply.

Check the rules

In Germany, closed seasons and minimum sizes are set by each state and can be stricter for single waters. All German rules by state, with the legal source. Outside Germany, the local rules apply: licence and agency by country.

In the kitchen

Hardly used as food; none of the three sources describes a preparation (FishBase only lists fishery use). With its spines and big head there is little fillet; it is usually released (rule of thumb).

Sources (5)

Last checked 2026-10-22. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].

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