Bluefish
📖 Overview
Occur in oceanic and coastal waters . They are most common along surf beaches and rock headlands in clean, high energy waters, although adults can also be found in estuaries and into brackish water . Small fish may be found in shallow coastal waters at least 2 m depth , in schools pursuing and attacking small fishes . Adults are in loose groups, often attacking shoals of mullets or other fishes and destroying numbers apparently far in excess of feeding requirements . Feed on other fish , crustaceans and cephalopods . Associated with sharks and billfishes . Voracious and aggressive , reported to bite when handled. Migrate to warmer water during winter and to cooler water in summer . Popular game fish . Good food fish; marketed mostly fresh , but also dried or salted , and frozen .
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
Dorsal spines (total): 8 - 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 23 - 28; Anal spines: 2 - 3; Anal soft rays: 23 - 27. Jaw teeth prominent, sharp, compressed, in a single series. Two dorsal fins, the first short and low, with 7 or 8 feeble spines connected by a membrane. Back greenish, sides and belly silvery .: fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.
🌀 Behaviour
Behavioural data for Bluefish is currently being reviewed.
🦐 Diet
Adult bluefish are strong and aggressive, and live in loose groups. They are fast swimmers that prey on schools of forage fish, and continue attacking them in feeding frenzies even after they appear to have eaten their fill. Depending on area and season, they favor menhaden and other sardine-like fish (Clupeidae), jacks (Scombridae), weakfish (Sciaenidae), grunts (Haemulidae), striped anchovies (Engraulidae), shrimp, and squid. They are cannibalistic and can destroy their own young. Bluefish sometimes chase bait through the surf zone, attacking schools in very shallow water, churning the water like a washing machine. This behavior is sometimes referred to as a "bluefish blitz". In turn, bluefish are preyed upon by larger predators at all stages of their lifecycle. As juveniles, they fall victim to a wide variety of oceanic predators, including striped bass, larger bluefish, fluke (summer flounder), weakfish, tuna, sharks, rays, and dolphins. As adults, bluefish are taken by tuna, sharks, billfish, seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, and many other species. Bluefish are aggressive and have been known to inflict severe bites on fishermen. Wading or swimming among feeding bluefish schools can be dangerous. In July 2006, a seven-year-old girl was attacked on a beach, near the Spanish town of Alicante, allegedly by a bluefish. In New Jersey, the large beachfeeder schools are very common and lifeguards report never having seen bluefish bite bathers in their entire careers.
🥚 Reproduction
Fecundity varies from 400,000 to 2,000,000 eggs depending on the size of the individual (ranging from 370,000 in a 31 cm fish to 1,240,000 in a 54 cm fish) . Tailor are serial spawners .
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous ; depth range 0 - 200 m . Subtropical; 53°N - 44°S, 98°W - 180°E South Africa, including the Mediterranean and Black Sea, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.
🌿 Ecology
other fish (Ref
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
🗺️ Global Occurrence Map
Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 886 records indexed .
👥 Community & Contribute
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