Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban

Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Initial Phase (IP) Female. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Initial Phase (IP) Female.  Fish caught from the jetty at Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, August 2020. Length: 33 cm (13 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish collected in pristine condition off Palmilla Beach, Baja California Sur, November 2018. Length: 48 cm (19 inches).

Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Initial Phase (IP) Female. Fish caught off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, July 2023. Length: 48 cm (19 inches). Catch courtesy of Mauricio Correa, Los Cabos, Baja California Sur.

Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Initial Phase (IP) Female. Fish caught off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, December 2020. Length: 52 cm (21 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Mauricio Correa, Los Cabos, Baja California Sur.

Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, March 2016. Length: 58 cm (23 inches). A rare unusually catch from a Panga with the photo taken on the fillet table.

Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish collected in coastal waters off Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, September 2006. Length: 60 cm (2 feet 0 inches). Fish identification courtesy Dr. Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama.

Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Underwater photographs taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photographs courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban, is a member of the Parrotfish or Scaridae Family, that is also known as the Blue-barred Parrotfish and in Mexico as loro barbazul. Globally, there are sixty-four species in the genus Scarus, of which ten found in Mexican waters, six in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific Ocean.

The Bluechin Parrotfish has a deep compressed body. The females and males of the initial phase (IP) are yellow to yellowish green in color with 5 irregular light blue bars on their flanks. The terminal phase (TP) males have blue green upper bodies with salmon pink scale edges; their lower bodies are salmon pink with green scale margins. They have a pair of blue stripes on their chin. The juveniles are pale with a yellowish tinge and have either 3 stripes along their body or five narrow blue-white spotted bars. They have orange yellow ventral fins. They have prominent parrot-like teeth in the front and 1 or 2 canines on the rear of their top jaw. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 9 rays; their caudal fin is concave with extended terminal rays; their dorsal fin has 9 spines and 10 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 15 rays. Their body is covered with large scales.

The Bluechin Parrotfish is found in and around rocky coral reefs at depths up to 35 m (115 feet). They reach a maximum of 90 cm (2 feet 11 inches) in length. They forage during the day and feed on algae and corals. The Bluechin Parrotfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Bluechin Parrotfish has a broad distribution being found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. In Mexican waters they are a resident of the Pacific Ocean and found from Alijos Rocks, Baja California, southward along the central and southwest coasts of Baja, from Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, southward along the central and southeast coasts of Baja, and from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, southward along the coast of the mainland to Guatemala.

The Bluechin Parrotfish is easily confused with the Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus (14 pectoral fin rays).

From a conservation perspective the Bluechin Parrotfish is currently considered to be of THREATENED with declining populations. They are considered excellent food fish due to their white meat and are sold commercially in most of the major markets in the greater Los Cabos area. They are caught by artisanal fishermen utilizing traps and nets and marketed fresh. Catching one of these by hook and like is simply not possible.