Wolf eel

How it lives

Despite the name it is not a true eel. It is a wolffish, with paired gill slits and pectoral fins. Young wolf eels are orange and spend up to two years in open water. Adults then settle in a rocky den and often keep it, unless a larger wolf eel or a large octopus drives them out. Females mature at about 4 to 7 years and lay up to 10,000 eggs in winter. Both parents guard the egg mass, and the eggs hatch after about 3 to 4 months. Pairs are often described as lifelong. Wild lifespan is unknown, though one wild fish was followed for about twenty years and aquarium fish live about 25. Depth goes to 226 m (740 ft).

Where it goes

Adults are mostly sedentary. They stay in one rocky den unless a larger wolf eel or octopus pushes them out. The young drift in open water for up to two years before settling on the reef. The range runs from the Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan across the Aleutians to southern California.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN (assessed 2020). Recreational harvest in Puget Sound is closed in Washington, and wolf eels are rarely caught in the commercial fishery off the Washington coast. One aquarium source says occasional fishing has not harmed global populations. A global population figure is not available in the sources read.