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The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is a species of popular marine game-fish found in all climates. It is the sole species of the Pomatomidae family.
Description
The bluefish is a moderately proportioned fish, with a broad, forked tail. The spiny first dorsal fin is normally folded back in a groove, as are its pectoral fins. Coloration is a grayish blue-green dorsally, fading to white on the lower sides and belly. Its single row of teeth in each jaw are uniform in size, knife-edged and sharp. Bluefish commonly range in size from seven inch (18 cm) "snappers" to as much as forty pounds (18 kg), though fish heavier than twenty pounds (9 kg) are exceptional.
Distribution and habitat
Bluefish are migratory marine fish, found worldwide in tropic and temperate seas, except for the eastern shores of the Pacific. On the western side of the Atlantic, their range is from Argentina to Nova Scotia. They are found off Africa, and in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Bluefish are generally found in bays and sandy bottomed near-shore waters. Migrating fish may be encountered in as much as 200 foot (60 m) depths.
USA Migration patterns
Bluefish are found off Florida in the winter months. By April, they have disappeared, heading north. By June, they may be found off Massachusetts; in years of high abundance, stragglers may be found as far north as Nova Scotia. By October, they leave New England waters, heading south.
Life history
Bluefish larvae are zooplankton, largely at the mercy of the currents. Spent bluefish have been found off east central Florida, migrating north. As with most marine fish, their spawning habits are not well known. In the western side of the North Atlantic, there are at least two populations, separated by Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. The Gulf Stream can carry larvae spawned to the south of Cape Hatteras to the north, and eddies can spin off, carrying the larvae into populations found off the coast of the mid-Atlantic, and the New England states. The bluefish population is highly cyclical, with abundance varying widely over a span of ten years or more.
Feeding habits
Bluefish are voracious, predatory fish. Depending on area and season, they favor menhaden and other sardine-like fishes (Clupeidae), jacks (Scombridae), weakfish (Sciaenidae), grunts (Haemulidae), striped anchovies (Engraulidae), shrimp and squid. They should be handled with care due to their ability to snap at an unwary hand. In July 2006, a 7 year-old girl was atacked on a beach, near the Spanish town of Alicante, allegedly by a bluefish. Luckily, even though she was seriously mauled and left in critical condition, her life was not at risk. *
Gear and methods
An important recreational and commercial fishery, bluefish are prized for their fighting ability. Bluefish are caught by trolling or casting silver spoons, plugs, and poppers with a fast retrieve. "walking the dog" with a surface lure at dawn or dusk near a sharp dropoff can also be productive. When a school is in a feeding frenzy little skill is actually needed to hook one of these ravinous fishs as long as the right lure is used. Commercially, bluefish in the one to two pound range are taken with gill nets at night over sandy shallows.
Edibility
Although a commercially important fish, bluefish are somewhat oily and strong flavored. To minimize any "fishy" taste, they should be gutted and iced promptly, and eaten while fresh. If the fish is not quickly taken care of in this way, the meat will rapidly deteriorate, becoming soft and mushy and assuming a steadily greyer pigmentation. The best for eating is actually the flesh of the younger fish. Additionally, bluefish in the northeast are often smoked.
As a migratory fish near the top of the food chain, bluefish can accumulate many toxins in their system ranging from PCPs to mercury; and as with any fish of such nature should not be consumed by women who are pregnant or nursing.
Other uses
Bluefish are also often trapped live and then used as live bait for tuna fishing.
Similar Species
Bluefish are the only members now included in the Pomatomidae family. At one time, gnomefishes were once included but these are now in grouped in a separate family Scombropidae.
References
External links
"Bluefish"