What’s that flash of silver-grey in the water? Susanne Masters has your guide to the thick-lipped grey mullet (chelon labrosus), harmless companions to our open water swims. 

Silver-grey, scaled, no complex markings and a simple streamlined shape, grey mullet are the visual archetype of a fish. Of the three species referred to as grey mullet around Britain and Ireland, thick-lipped grey mullet are the most common.