The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is the only extant species of the Pomatomidae family. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and tropical waters. Bluefish are known as tailor in Australia,^[1] shad on the east coast of South Africa, and elf on the west coast. Other common names are blue, chopper, and anchoa.^[2] It is good eating and a popular gamefish.

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 much larger, sometimes weighing as much as 40 pounds (18 kg), though fish heavier than twenty pounds (9 kg) are exceptional.

Distribution

"Trolling for blue fish" lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1866

Bluefish are widely distributed around the world in tropical and subtropical waters. They are found in pelagic waters on much of the continental shelves along eastern America (though not between between the south of Florida and the north of South America), Africa, the Mediterranean, south east Asia and Australia. They are typically found in clear energetic waters near surf beaches or by rock headlands. They also enter estuaries and inhabit brackish waters. Periodically, they leave the coasts and migrate in schools through open waters.^[3][4]

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. They are also present in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the year.

Life history

Adult bluefish are typically between 20 and 60 cm long, with a maximum reported size of 120 cm and 14 kilograms. They reproduce during spring and summer, and can live for up to nine years.^[3][4] Bluefish fry are zooplankton, and are largely at the mercy of 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 fry spawned to the south of Cape Hatteras to the north, and eddies can spin off, carrying them into populations found off the coast of the mid-Atlantic, and the New England states.

Feeding habits

Large bluefish, about 20 pounds

External videos
	Bluefish blitz – YouTube
	Bluefish Feeding Frenzy – YouTube
	Fishing for Gator Bluefish – YouTube

Blue fish are strong and aggressive fish which live in loose groups. They are fast swimmers which prey on schools of forage fish, and continue attacking them in feeding frenzies even after they appear to have eaten their fill.^[3][4] 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 are cannibalistic and can destroy their own young.^[5] 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 life cycle. 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 should be handled with caution due to their ability to snap at unwary hands. Fishermen have been severely bitten, and it can help to wear gloves. It a not good idea to wade or swim among feeding bluefish schools.^[6] In July 2006, a 7 year-old girl was attacked on a beach, near the Spanish town of Alicante, allegedly by a bluefish.^[7]

Commercial fisheries

Wild capture of bluefish by countries in thousand tonnes, 1950–2010, as reported by the FAO.^[8]

As can be seen on the capture chart at the right, the bluefish population is highly cyclical, with abundance varying widely over a span of ten years or more.^[9]

Management

Mid-Atlantic bluefish were at unhealthy levels in the late 1990s, but skillful management resulted in stocks being fully rebuilt by 2009 ^[10]

Bluefish is a highly sought-after sportfish that had been overfished in some areas,^[where?] but restrictions set forth by management organizations have helped the species population grow.

Other uses

Bluefish are often caught and used as live bait for tuna, shark, or billfish.

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.

Notes

References

• "Pomatomus saltatrix". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=168559. Retrieved 30 January 2006.