Gurnard

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

A gurnard walks along the seabed on finger-like feelers, then croaks when you lift it out of the water. Once you know those two habits, the fish is hard to mistake.

Gurnard are bottom-feeding sea fish with big spiny heads and wing-like fins. UK anglers mainly meet three of them: tub gurnard (Chelidonichthys lucerna), red gurnard (Chelidonichthys cuculus) and grey gurnard (Eutrigla gurnardus).

If you have just landed one and want to know which it is, spread the pectoral fin. This guide covers how to tell the three apart, where and when to find them, how anglers fish for them and what the rules say about keeping one. For the wider picture, see our guide to other UK sea species.

What Is a Gurnard?

A gurnard’s “legs” are part of its fins. The lowest rays of each pectoral fin are separate from the rest and work as feelers, letting the fish walk across the seabed and probe the sand for food.

Those free rays are the first thing to look for. Check the rest of the body plan alongside them:

A large, bony, armoured head with spines
A body that tapers towards the tail
Big pectoral fins that open out like wings

Gurnard feed on the bottom, taking worms, crustaceans and small fish such as sprats and sandeels, and they scavenge dead fish too. They also croak when handled (the FAQ below explains how).

FishBase gives a common length of about 30 cm for both tub and grey gurnard. A gurnard of that size is an ordinary fish of its kind, not an undersized one.

If your fish has no separate feeler rays, it is not a gurnard, so try our fish identification guide. If it does have them, the next job is working out which gurnard you have.

Tub, Red or Grey: How to Tell Gurnard Apart

The obvious clue, colour, is the one that catches people out. Tub gurnard can be red, so a red fish on the shingle is not necessarily a red gurnard.

Spread the pectoral fin instead. Blue streaks or a blue fringe on the fin means tub gurnard. No blue means red or grey gurnard.

Species	Scientific name	Pectoral fin	Common length	Max length	Typical depth	UK range
Tub gurnard	Chelidonichthys lucerna	Large, blue-streaked, blue fringe	30 cm	82.8 cm	20 to 318 m	Throughout the UK
Red gurnard	Chelidonichthys cuculus	No blue fringe	Not listed	70 cm	Usually 30 to 250 m	Mainly southern waters, especially the English Channel
Grey gurnard	Eutrigla gurnardus	Smaller, no blue	30 cm	60 cm	Usually 10 to 150 m	Throughout the UK

Lengths and depths are from FishBase (tub, red, grey). The UK range column reflects angling guidance rather than survey data.

Tub gurnard

The biggest of the three. FishBase lists a maximum published weight of 14lb 9oz (6.6kg), which is the heaviest fish on record, not a typical catch or a rod-caught record. FishBase gives tub gurnard a maximum age of 15 years.

Red gurnard

A red or reddish fish with no blue on the pectoral fin is likely a red gurnard. Red gurnard are long-lived, with FishBase recording a maximum reported age of 21 years.

Grey gurnard

The smallest, with a maximum published weight of about 2lb 2oz (956g) on FishBase. Grey gurnard live in brackish as well as fully marine water. Angling guides describe them as darker grey, with the smallest fins of the three and a noticeably bony lateral line, a useful pointer when the colour is ambiguous.

If you only check one thing, check the fin before the colour.

Where and When to Find Gurnard in UK Waters

Fish over sand and clean patches beside light broken ground, mainly in the warmer months.

Anglers generally find gurnard move inshore in summer and deeper in winter. Shore anglers get a seasonal window, while boat anglers can reach them for longer.

The best shore ground looks like this:

Open sandy beaches
Sandy patches between scattered rock, where food collects
Gullies and sandbanks that funnel food along the bottom

The typical depths in the table above are mostly beyond casting range, so for much of the year gurnard are a boat angler’s fish over sand. Red gurnard are mostly a southern and Channel fish, while tub and grey turn up around the whole UK coast.

Gurnard often arrive as a by-catch on the clean and mixed ground you might fish for bass from the shore or cod in the colder months, and boat anglers drifting for pollack may meet them too.

Best for: summer shore sessions over sand and light mixed ground. Skip if: you are fishing deep rock marks with gurnard as your main target.

How to Catch Gurnard: Rigs, Hooks and Bait

Gurnard respond to movement. Inch the rig back a few yards every couple of minutes and a feeding fish has something to follow.

The approach recommended in established UK angling guidance runs like this:

Choose a sandy beach or a clean patch beside light rough ground.
Close in, fish a two or three hook flapper rig. For distance, switch to a clipped-down single hook rig.
Use size 1 or 2 hooks.
Add a small attractor spoon above the hook.
Use a plain lead on snag-free ground, and wind in a few yards every couple of minutes.

You do not need specialist tackle. Your usual beach outfit will cast these rigs.

For bait, match what gurnard eat. Their natural diet is worms, crustaceans and small fish such as sandeels and sprats, so worm baits, crustacean baits and strips of small fish or sandeel all fit. No single bait has been shown to outfish the others, so use what you would already fish for bottom feeders on that mark.

This method comes from angling guidance rather than any official or scientific source, and gurnard are rarely the only fish it catches. That works in your favour: the same rig on the same ground picks up other bottom feeders while you wait.

Rig	Use it when
Two or three hook flapper	Fish are close in, over sand or a clean patch near rough ground
Clipped-down single hook	You need extra casting range to reach the feeding ground

Handling, Size Rules and When to Put Them Back

You will see minimum sizes for gurnard quoted online, but none appear in the official national list. The GOV.UK table of Minimum Conservation Reference Sizes in UK waters (updated 3 February 2026) has no gurnard entry.

Handling

Gurnard have a spiny, armoured head and sharp fin rays. Wet your hands, hold the fish firmly, unhook it on a wet mat or cloth and return it quickly.

Size rules

Inshore waters (within 6 nautical miles) can carry extra minimum sizes set by Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) in England, DAERA in Northern Ireland, Marine Scotland or the Welsh Government. Check with your local IFCA or devolved authority before you keep a gurnard.

Sustainability

Red gurnard is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The Wildlife Trusts advise that locally caught red gurnard is a sustainable choice if taken outside the May to July breeding season and not under 24 cm. That 24 cm figure is conservation guidance, not a legal limit. Red gurnard mature at about 2 to 3 years old.

The verdict: no national size limit applies, so check locally, and return small red gurnard and any caught from May to July.

Frequently asked questions

Are gurnard venomous?

No. UK gurnard species are not venomous, according to established UK angling guidance. Their bony heads and spines can still cut your hands, so handle them as described in the handling section above.

Why do gurnard croak?

Gurnard croak by drumming muscles against their swim bladder. That produces the grunting or croaking sound you hear when one is lifted out, and it is probably used to communicate with other gurnard.

Do gurnard feed at night?

Gurnard feed mainly in daylight. If gurnard are your target, plan daytime sessions over sandy ground rather than night sessions.

Are gurnard good to eat?

Yes. Gurnard have firm, pinkish-white, low-oil flesh that holds its shape when cooked, though the fish is bony. Its reputation grew after chefs including Rick Stein promoted it, and UK prices and sales rose around 2007 to 2008. Follow the size guidance above before keeping one.