Mr Caverivière reviewed the current data. Distribution appears complex. The species is both benthic and pelagic. Balistes are found from 25 to 60 m. Their apparent abundance in Ghana varies seasonally, rising to a maximum in November-December corresponding to the main reproduction period. Abundances are very low in the cold season. A fraction of the population is found on the surface over grounds of 25 to 200–300 m with the oceanward range increasing during the cold season. The species prefers bottoms of average granulometry, avoiding very rocky or very sandy ones. This may be related to the need to prepare nests for spawning. No sexually mature males have ever been found, only large, sexually inactive fish. Sexual inversion (photogenesis) seems a plausible hypothesis.
There are no new data to support or contradict the various assumptions already put forward to explain this extraordinary proliferation (FAO, 1979a; FAO, in press).
According to Liberian artisanal fishermen, this species drives off other species, making capture impossible. This should be checked.
