Cunner

Fascinating facts about the Cunner

• At depths from 10 m to 128 m (33-420 ft), these fish are found near seaweed beds, shipwrecks, and pilings, and they often mix with larger tautogs, scavenging leftovers.
• When water temperatures fall below 5 °C in Newfoundland, they enter a dormant, hypometabolic state in autumn and remain dormant until May or June.
• Weighing in at a state-record 3 lb 8.8 oz and measuring 18.5 in long with a 13 in girth, a New Jersey catch on May 26 2019 shattered the previous record by 6.4 oz, highlighting how much size potential still exists in a fish often dismissed by anglers.
• Being the sole living representative of the genus Tautogolabrus, this species carries an entire evolutionary branch on its shoulders, reminding us that the loss of any single species can erase a whole lineage.
• Their ability to shift color lets them blend with black sea bass, rockfish, and even grouper, making them easy to misidentify and often labeled pests despite once being a valuable commercial catch. This camouflage underscores how adaptable traits can blur the lines between target and by-catch.

At a glance

About the Cunner

The cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus) is a modest-sized wrasse that glides through the inshore waters of the northwestern Atlantic, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Newfoundland down to the Chesapeake Bay. Its body is a chameleon of the sea, shifting hue to blend with seaweed beds, shipwrecks, and wharf pilings where it lurks at depths of 10 to 128 m (33 to 420 ft). A pointed snout distinguishes it from the bulkier tautog, and its ability to change color often leads anglers to mistake it for black sea bass, rockfish, or even a short-tautog, prompting many catches to be released. In winter, cunner enter a torpid, hypometabolic state beneath rocks, a survival strategy first documented in Newfoundland when temperatures dip below 5 °C; they remain dormant until the spring thaw in May or June. Their diet is opportunistic, feeding on scraps left by blackfish (tautog) and scavenging the benthic community, while their occasional presence in the aquarium trade hints at a quieter side of their life. A record-setting individual caught on May 26 2019 measured 18.5 inches, weighed 3 lb 8.8 oz, and underscored the species’ subtle yet resilient place in coastal ecosystems, a story that continues to unfold beneath the waves.

More fish to discover

Browse Feravox