Pomatomus Saltatrix
Pomatomidae
Perciformes
Nearshore, Onshore
3 - 15 pounds
15" - 51"
The Bluefish is a common game fish that is known for its delicious taste. In South Africa, the Bluefish is known as Shad or Elf; in New Zealand and Australia, it is called Tailor.
The Bluefish has a moderately proportioned body; one of its distinctive features is its broad and corked tail, and its spiny first dorsal and pectoral fins that are usually folded back in a grove. The Bluefish is generally grayish to blue-green in color in its dorsal area, whereas its belly and lower sides fade to white.
It has a single row of uniformly-sized, razor-sharp teeth.
As aggressively strong feeders, the Bluefish have a complex menu of prey. They can chase after schools of forage fish owing to their fast swimming speed. They usually go on a feeding frenzy by attacking these schools of fish even after having satisfied their stomachs. They especially like sardine-like fish, Menhaden, Weakfish, Grunt, Anchovy, Squid, and Shrimp.
In return, the Bluefish serve as food for bigger fish like Dolphin, Billfish, Sharks, and Tuna, among others.
Commonly, the Bluefish can grow up to 7 inches; they weigh up to 40 lbs. Most of the Bluefish population, however, reach only up to 20 lbs.
To reel in lots of Bluefish, you can use the following harvesting methods: trawls, hook and line, and gillnet. Note that you are only allowed to use a circle hook and nothing else; recreational anglers can only capture up to three pieces of Bluefish per day (no minimum size). As for artificial lures or flies, you can use only up to a maximum of two treble hooks. Be careful when handling Bluefish since they can bite you leading to some serious wounds.
You can best fish for Bluefish from tidal rivers, bays, and sandy harbors during summer.
A permit must be secured to catch Bluefish in commercial fisheries. Some states also impose a specific catch limit for both commercial and recreational fishing.
As a marine pelagic species, the Bluefish generally inhabit subtropical and temperate waters all around the globe Most of them thrive along the continental shelves of America, (except in northern South America and south Florida), Australia, and Southeast Asia. Interestingly, the Bluefish is also not found in the northern side of the Pacific Ocean.
Typically, anglers find Bluefish in various kinds of habitats including brackish waters, estuaries, rock headlands, surf beaches, or above the continental shelf. From time to time, the Bluefish migrate to open waters in schools.