Sea dragon fish

The sea dragon fish is the only member of the family Dragon (Trachinidae) that live in the Black Sea. The characteristic features of this fish are considered to be a low elongated body covered with dense fine scales, as well as several spines located on the head of a sea dragon. The first of the 2 dorsal fins available in a sea dragon fish consists of six to seven spiny rays and has a black spot. In general, the body color of the fish is gray or yellow with oblique lateral stripes, greenish fins and almost black caudal along the posterior edge.

In the Black Sea basin, sea dragon fish are found everywhere, and there are cases when it was caught in the Kerch Strait. On average, the size of this fish ranges from 15 to 20 centimeters in length, although sometimes you can find a sea dragon about 45 centimeters long.

When handling this fish, it should be borne in mind that the sea dragon has poisonous glands that are located at the base of the spines of the gill covers and spines of the dorsal fin. Defeat with human poison can happen when carelessly handling caught fish, as well as even if you just accidentally step on it in the water. The injection is able to provoke extremely severe burning pain, spreading to the entire limb and lasting more than one hour.

Fortunately, medicine is able to provide timely assistance in a timely manner in order to avoid severe consequences from poisoning of sea dragon fish with poison. By the way, literary sources even describe cases when a death was observed from injections of this fish. That is why it is classified as the most dangerous fish of the Black Sea basin for humans.

Despite the fact that in the waters of Ukraine the sea dragon fish has no commercial importance, its meat has excellent taste qualities, especially in cured form. However, in amateur catches, it can be found quite rarely. If you managed to catch this fish, try to treat the release of the hook from the mouth of the sea dragon as carefully as possible.

For the use of sea dragon fish for culinary purposes, it is primarily recommended to remove (trim, trim) the spines on its dorsal fin and the spines of the gill caps. By doing this procedure, you can cook this fish in any form without fear. For example, you can simply fry its meat, having previously been scheduled, or let it go. In addition, sea dragon fish meat tastes amazing if baked in an oven in foil or parchment paper.