Pomatomus saltatrix
Bluefish
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Pomatomidae (Bluefishes)
Pomatomus
Pomatomus saltatrix (Bluefish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Streamlined, moderately elongate, and moderately compressed, with a large head, a prominent lower jaw, and separate dorsal fins. Dorsal profile is moderately convex. Nostril is paired, and nares are close set, with posterior naris broader than anterior naris. Eye is of moderate size and laterally located. Mouth is terminal, with lower jaw slightly projecting beyond upper jaw, and upper jaw extending beyond posterior margin of orbit. Teeth occur in jaws, vomer, and palatine. Jaws have a single row of prominent, sharp, and compressed teeth. Vomerine and palatine teeth are villiform. Preoperculum has a smooth margin and a membranous flap that covers suboperculum. Operculum has a broad, flat spine on posterior margin. Branchiostegal rays number 7. Pseudobranch on inner aspect of gill cover is well developed. Gill membranes are separate and free of isthmus. Four gill arches are present, with slit behind fourth arch. Gill rakers on first arch number 3 or 4 on upper limb and 9 to 11 on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 29%–33%, snout length 7%–9%, eye diameter 5%–6%, upper jaw length 13%–15%, pectoral fin length 17%–20%, body depth 26%–30%. Pectoral fin is relatively short and acutely tipped and has 16 to 18 rays. Spinous dorsal fin has seven to nine short, weak spines and is depressible into groove. Second dorsal fin has a single relatively long spine and 23 to 28 rays. Pelvic fin inserts slightly behind pectoral fin base and consists of one spine and 5 rays. Anal fin has two spines and 23 to 27 rays. Caudal fin is broad and moderately forked. Body, cheek, and operculum are covered with small, deciduous spinoid scales. Bases of second dorsal fin and anal fin are covered with scales. Lateral line is slightly arched over pectoral fin and consists of about 95 scales. Vertebrae number 26: 11 precaudal and 15 caudal.
Color is greenish to bluish dorsally and silvery on side and ventrally, with black blotch at base of pectoral fin. Dorsal and anal fins are pale green with yellow tinge, and caudal fin is greenish with yellow tinge.
Distribution
From Nova Scotia and Bermuda to Yucatán and northern Cuba, and from Colombia to Argentina, including the entire Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Continental shelves in subtropical to warm temperate waters worldwide, with exception of the eastern Pacific and the western Pacific north of the equator. Depth range not specified.
Biology
This species is a ravenous predator, and prey consist mostly of squids and of schooling ray-finned fishes, such as engraulids, clupeids, atherinids, sciaenids, scombrids, and stromateids.
Maximum known size is 115 cm TL. Maximum known age is about 12 years.
Fecundity reaches to over one million eggs in large specimens, and spawning occurs from March to September. Eggs and larvae are pelagic.
Occur in oceanic and coastal waters (Ref. 26340). 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 (Ref. 6492). Small fish may be found in shallow coastal waters at least 2 m depth (Ref. 9563), in schools pursuing and attacking small fishes (Ref. 9626). Adults are in loose groups, often attacking shoals of mullets or other fishes and destroying numbers apparently far in excess of feeding requirements (Ref. 9860). Feed on other fish (Ref. 5377), crustaceans and cephalopods (Ref. 47377). Associated with sharks and billfishes (Ref. 26340). Voracious and aggressive (Ref. 9626), reported to bite when handled. Migrate to warmer water during winter and to cooler water in summer (Ref. 9987). Popular game fish (Ref. 6638). Good food fish; marketed mostly fresh (Ref. 9860), but also dried or salted (Ref. 5284), and frozen (Ref. 9987).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2014-07-07. Resilience: Low (K=0.09-0.4; tm=2.4; tmax=14; Fec=1 million).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish; aquaculture: commercial.
References
Hastings and Bortone 1976
Hastings et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Johnson 1984
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Roberts 1993
Nelson 1994
Goodbred and Graves 1996
Schaldach et al. 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Collette 2001a
Collette 2002d
Klein-MacPhee 2002a
Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve (1993) Australian fisheries resources. Bureau of Resource Sciences, Canberra, Australia. 422 p.
Juanes, F., R.E. Marks, K.A. McKown and D.O. Conover (1993) Predation by age-0 bluefish on age-0 anadromous fishes in the Hudson River estuary. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 122(3):348-356.
Kuiter, R.H. (1993) Coastal fishes of south-eastern Australia. University of Hawaii Press. Honolulu, Hawaii. 437 p.
Collette, B.B. (1999) Pomatomidae. Bluefishes. p. 2650. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. Vol. 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae).
Dooley, J.K. (1990) Pomatomidae. p. 721-722. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Randall, J.E. (1995) Coastal fishes of Oman. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 439 p.
Nakamura, I., T. Inada, M. Takeda and H. Hatanaka (1986) Important fishes trawled off Patagonia. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo. 369 p.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
FAO-FIGIS (2005) A world overview of species of interest to fisheries. Chapter: Pomatomus saltatrix. Retrieved on 21 June 2005, from www.fao.org/figis/servlet/species?fid=3102. 3p. FIGIS Species Fact Sheets. Species Identification and Data Programme-SIDP, FAO-FIGIS
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
Comments On Pomatomus saltatrix