Little lumpfishes at Strande beach in the Kiel Fjord

Lumpfish are domestic in wide parts of the northern Atlantic from Canada to New Jersey, from the Barents Sea to Greenland and down to Spain. The clumsy body is big and the eyes and the pectoral fin are quite big in comparison with the stocky head. Lumpsuckers do not have a swim bladder, but with a sucking plate originating from the pelvic fins they are adapted to living on the seafloor. They can't swim very well and their main food are comb jelly fish, small fish and other invertebrates.

Most time of the year Cyclopterus lumpus stays in deeper regions from 50 to 800 m. During the spawning period in late spring the adults migrate to shallow coastal areas. Here the mainly greenish females lay their eggs on the ground. The males become redish at the belly in this period and protect the clutch. It is common to see the males guarding their offspring at stony beaches.

In autumn you will find the 2-4 cm juvenile fishes at eal grass or macro algae. The colors reach from bright yellow via yellow-green and brownish to violett. Most individuals have dots or stripes. The body that is a little bit like a blowfish as well as the clumsy moving technique make these little ones a nice subject for a picture.

Lump fish are also caught by the commercial fishery. The eggs of lump fish will be colorued and salted and sold as cheap caviar. Sometimes it is sold as 'German caviar'. The smoked or roasted meat of the males is well known in the countries of northern europe.