Sea world and south - A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer - page 78

A school of yellowtail surgeonfish cruising the reef. (Photo courtesy
Robert S. Kiwala)
right between us and get away, but many of them would lose their heads
and charge straight into the net.
Yellowtail surgeons have three sharp blades protruding from the base
of their tail—hence the family's name. Not as scalpel-sharp as on the
single-blade species of surgeonfish, these blades would tangle in the
net long enough for us to grab them with our hands, untangle them,
and transfer them to our collecting bags. Unlike with most fish, the
skin of yellowtail surgeons is tough and leathery, so they are one of the
few fish that can be netted like this without any damage to the skin,
fins, or protective mucus layer.
Although it was exhausting, we enjoyed the thrill of the chase when
we collected yellowtail surgeons. On a good set we could catch twenty
or thirty nice big specimens. Their one-and-a-half- to two-foot-long
bodies are gray with many small black spots, and of course, they have
yellow tails. Just as in the ocean, they make a striking school in a large
aquarium.