Ten facts about fish that might surprise you

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Man fishing in Rutland Water. Credit: PA Images

Top 10 'fishy facts' from the Environment Agency:

  • Many fish such as carp and minnow appear to have no teeth but in fact have teeth in their throats which are known as pharyngeal teeth

  • Fish were the first animals to evolve bony skeletons over 450 million years ago

  • Brown trout and sea trout are the same species but it's unclear why some seem to migrate to the sea while others stay at home

  • Trout who appear to leave for sea but then change their minds, and are known as 'slob trout'

  • Eels only spawn in the Sargasso Sea, in the North Atlantic Ocean and then the young can take up to three years to enter our rivers

  • Tench got the nickname 'Doctor Fish' as it was thought that other fish rubbed up against them when they were injured

  • Every year more than 400,000 coarse fish are bred by the Environment Agency to restock our rivers

  • Male sticklebacks build a nest to attract females then closely guard the nests until the eggs hatch

  • Catfish who are not native to the UK have 27,000 taste buds compared to the just 7,000 in humans

  • The eel is the only UK freshwater fish that can swim backwards