BAROS UNDERWATER The Parrotfish “Parrotfish” is given to a group of some 90 fish
species that form part of a family or Scaridae. The fish vary in size, colour and pattern (even
between juveniles, males and females) and are actually hermaphroditic, meaning that female
fish can change sex if the need arises. The males are vibrantly coloured while females are more grey, but the change of sex also comes with
the incredible change of colour (when a female changes into a male). These fish are herbivores and play an integral ecological role as reef-
grazers, their beak-like teeth enabling them to easily scape algae off coral surfaces, which is
what they do for the majority of their days. This
process of constant eating of algae on the reefs
helps to create new areas for baby corals to grow and ensures that algae populations are kept under control.
Interestingly, the digestive systems of these
incredible creatures (and their molar-like teeth
in their throats) help to break the corals into tiny
grains of white sand (called bioerosion), which is
then “pooped out”, and an average size parrotfish can create 90kg of sand a year. Parrotfish
generally live between five and seven years, and
after a full day of eating, these fish form a mucus
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IN TOUCH Magazine — BAROS Maldives
cocoon to sleep in safely or hide in the coral itself. Research shows that coral reefs with a healthy
population of herbivorous fishes, in particular, a
large parrotfish population, can help restore coral
reefs by maintaining the algae cover and creating a clean space for corals to settle and grow.
For better coral reef management strategies,
parrotfishes were recently declared a protected species in September 2020, making it illegal to
catch, trade and display any items made out of parrotfishes in the Maldives.
