Porcupinefish
Diodon hystrix
Also called Spiny puffer.
How to tell it
Balloon with long spines that lie flat until it inflates; dark spots on body AND fins; huge doll eyes.
- Not a striped burrfish? That one short fixed spines and stripes, no fin spots. (Striped Burrfish)
Rules for
Every state
| State | Size | Bag | Season | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida (Atlantic) | No size limit | 5 per species within 20-organism marine life aggregate | Open year-roundFWC 2026 · checked | Open |
| Florida (Gulf) | No size limit | 5 per species within 20-organism marine life aggregate | Open year-roundFWC 2026 · checked | Open |
Not specifically regulated in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia: each state’s rule for unlisted species applies there (on its page).
On the table
No — toxic like its puffer cousins.
In the app
Point the camera at a porcupinefish and the name appears before you take the picture, with these rules for the water you’re standing in. No signal needed, and every catch goes in the log.
Get the appQuestions anglers ask about porcupinefish
How many porcupinefish can you keep?
Florida (Atlantic): 5 per species within 20-organism marine life aggregate; Florida (Gulf): 5 per species within 20-organism marine life aggregate.
How do you tell porcupinefish from striped burrfish?
Porcupinefish has this: Balloon with long spines that lie flat until it inflates; dark spots on body AND fins; huge doll eyes.. Striped Burrfish short fixed spines and stripes, no fin spots.