The accepted common name for monkfish is goosefish. Another commonly used name is angler. In New England they are also called allmouth, molligut and fishing frog.  The scientific (Latin) name for monkfish is Lophius americanus.

In the Northwest Atlantic there are two species of monkfish (goosefish): 

Bigelow and Schroeder (in Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, published 1953) observed the maximum size of monkfish (goosefish) to be four feet (122 cm).  They noted that the fish may reach six feet in length but there are no documented measurements to verify this.  The largest fish taken in NMFS surveys was 138 cm (54 inches), taken in Cape Cod Bay in the autumn of 1978.  The second longest fish documented from a survey was 135 cm (53 inches), caught in Massachusetts Bay by State of Massachusetts inshore surveys in 1979.  Nine additional fish 121 cm or greater in length have been taken in NMFS surveys.  Most of these very large fish were taken in the Gulf of Maine or Southern New England waters and all were caught prior to 1987.

The maximum age of monkfish is not known at present.  The largest monkfish which have been aged by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center were 98 cm (age 8), 95 cm (age 8) and 91 cm (age 9).   This suggests fish approaching 140 cm could be 13 or 14 years old, or even older depending on how growth rates slow with age. 

The age of monkfish is determined by counting marks that can be seen on the vertebrae, much like rings are counted on fish scales or on tree stumps.  Vertebra number 8 is dissected from the vertebral column and baked in a slow oven for several hours.  The baking helps define the rings by darkening protein bands within the vertebra.  The annual marks can then be counted with the aid of a dissecting microscope.

Monkfish grow about 10 cm per year, up to an age of around 90 cm.  Since we currently have ages for few fish larger than 90 cm, we cannot say how rapidly they grow after age 8 or 9 years.  Most vertebrate species grow more slowly or cease to grow as they reach maximum size or age.  Present data do not show major differences between growth rates of males and females, or between goosefish from the southern and northern management regions.