Norwegian record Sea stickleback: 22 g

About Sea stickleback

The sea stickleback (Spinachia spinachia), also called the fifteen-spined stickleback, is the largest member of its family and has an unmistakable shape: a long, pencil-thin body, a pointed snout and a very narrow tail stalk. A row of about fifteen short, separate spines runs in front of the dorsal fin, and each flank carries a keel of 40–50 bony plates. Its brown to olive colouring blends in well among seaweed. It occurs in salt and brackish water from the Bay of Biscay to northern Norway, becoming scarce north of Lofoten. It lives in kelp, wrack and eelgrass down to about 10 m, singly or in pairs, and eats small crustaceans, amphipods, fish larvae and worms. Most are 8–14 cm long, with a maximum of around 20 cm. In May and June the male glues seaweed together into a nest and guards the eggs on his own. Norwegian Red List 2021: Least Concern (LC).

Sources: Artsdatabanken, Wikipedia, MarLIN

• Habitat: Saltvann
• Best month: April
• Red list status: LC (2021)

See the species guide

Biggest Sea stickleback in FishComp

2 g (9 % of the record) by Dag Rune Kvittem. See the catch

How to register a Norwegian record

1. Norwegian sport-fishing records are registered with Villmarksliv, not with FishComp. Read the rules before you do anything else with the fish.
2. Records are based on weight and approved by a jury. You give the weight and length, where it was caught, the gear you used and any witnesses.
3. Keep your photos and notes from the catch. Logging it in FishComp does not register a record.