Have you ever seen a Flagfin Stargazer? The Flagfin Stargazer was the second “unicorn” that DPNR’s August’ Science Saturday guest ever photographed. These tiny fish can be found as deep as 40 feet or close to the shoreline.

What about the Duskycheek Tonguefish? These teardrop-shaped fish camouflage perfectly with the sand in shallow waters. Unless you sift through the sand along the shoreline with a magnifying glass attached to your camera, you’d never spot them. So why would anyone want to go looking for such tiny, hard-to-find species?

DPNR’s Division of Territorial Parks and Protected Areas Director, Kitty Edwards, was joined by citizen scientist Andres Hernandez to talk about the fascinating pursuit of unicorn hunting in St. John and the neighboring islands. Andres explores the ocean in search of rare fish species that can be found in situ, in their natural environment. Every day, he spends time photographing these stealthy fish species found near or along the shoreline of local beaches, adding them to the unicorn list.

The unicorn award and classification only apply to fish found in the tropical western Atlantic. Throughout his presentation, Andres explained why citizen scientists like him are driven to photograph fish in situ, even though their existence is already documented and the process can be time-consuming. One key reason is fish that are alive look very different from fish that are dead. Photos of living fish provide more accurate descriptions for future research and data references. Test your fish identification knowledge with the activity posted below!

Are you interested in learning more about how to photograph and document unique fish species across the USVI? Click below to watch the full interview with Andres and Kitty!

Science Saturday, a monthly Facebook LIVE event, airs on the second Saturday of each month at 10 a.m.  Watch the full interview on the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Facebook page or the Science Saturday YouTube playlist.