Wolf Eel

Anarrhichthys ocellatus

Photo contributed by: Daniel W. Gotshall To email him click here.

In-depth Information Regarding this Species

U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean	Aleutian Islands to Southern California (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Habitat	Cold water species Settle in rock shelter (Love 1996, Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Depth range (meters)	Down to 226 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Behavior	Live on the bottom (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983, Burgess et al. 1990)
Average Maximum Overall Length (cm)	204.3+ (Love 1996) 203 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) 200 (Burgess et al. 1990)
Female Age at Maturity (years)	7 (Love 1996)
Fecundity	10,000 (Love 1996)
Spawning Behavior	Form pairs at 4 years old (91.4 cm long) Both parents wrap around eggs, females turn them (Love 1996, Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Time of Year of Spawning	October–Late winter (Love 1996)
Habitat where Eggs are found	Eggs laid on rocks (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Days to Hatch	91–112 (Love 1996)
Predators on Eggs	Rockfish and Kelp greenling (Love 1996)
Habitat where Juveniles are found	Pelagic for up to 2 years (Love 1996)
Adult Food Preference	Invertebrates (Crabs, Sand Dollars, Snails) (Love 1996) Mollusks, Fish (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Commercial Fishery	"They are good to eat and some northwest Native American tribes reserved this species for tribal healers (Love 1996)." Commercial fishery exists (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Market	"Good eating" (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Ornamental Market	Can buy them for home aquariums (Love 1996) Young are orange (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) In aquarium guide (Burgess et al. 1990)
Additional Remarks	Male and female occupy same cave Individuals may mate for life (Love 1996) Jeff Marliave–Vancouver Aquarium raises baby wolf eels (Love 1996) "…can be vicious" (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Difficult to raise (Burgess et al. 1990)

Recent Wild Harvest Data for Oregon
Data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Year	Total Catch (Pounds)	Ex-vessel Value ( U.S. Dollars)
1989	4,917	1,471
1990	2,994	946
1991	1,963	553
1992	1,507	689
1993	595	339
1994	3,023	930
1995	3,598	1,891
1996	3,791	1,050
1997	3,602	1,062
1998	4,803	2,222

Wolf Eels Guarding Eggs

Photograph courtesy of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering To link to their webpage click here.

Juvenile Wolf Eel

Photograph courtesy of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering To link to their webpage click here.

Adult Wolf Eel

Photo contributed by: Bill Barss Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

© 2003 Stephen Sempier