Fish
Jutjaw
Parascorpis typus
A dull grey-brown Cape fish that strains plankton from the water, seldom caught on hook but good on the plate.
Also known as kinnebak
- Typical size
- Attains 60 cm
- Habitat
- Coastal reef and open water
- Depth
- 20-200 m
The jutjaw is a plain grey-brown fish reaching about 60 cm. Its feeble teeth and long, numerous gill-rakers mark it as a plankton feeder, straining tiny drifting animals from the water rather than seizing larger prey.
Because of this diet it is rarely taken by anglers, though the flesh is good eating. It is known only from False Bay to Maputo, in depths of about 20 to 200 m.