Rare fish found in Channel

A RARE ribbon-shaped fish has been handed in to an aquarium after being accidentally hauled up in a fisherman's nets

The red-band eel fish, which grows to up to 32 inches, can be found as far south as the Mediterranean and off Senegal on the west African coast.

But a specimen caught in the English Channel has now been donated to the Blue Reef Aquarium in Portsmouth. Blue Reef's Lindsay Holloway said: "They're extraordinary-looking fish more at home in the Mediterranean than around our shores.

"No-one is sure how many live in the Channel as they spend the majority of their lives in burrows. One reason that this individual was caught may be as a result of recent storms, which can destroy burrows."