Fishes

The African pompano (Alectis ciliaris), also known as the pennant-fish or threadfin trevally, is a widely distributed species of tropical marine fish in the jack family, Carangidae. The species is found in tropical waters worldwide, with adults often inhabiting coastlines, while juveniles are usually pelagic, floating with ocean currents. The adult African pompano is similar in appearance to the other members of the genus Alectis, with the concave shape of the head near the eyes; the clearest distinguishing feature. The juveniles are similar to other members of Alectis, having long, filamentous dorsal and anal fin tips which are thought to discourage predators. The species lives in depths less than 100 m, consuming a range of crustaceans and small fishes. The species is of minor economic importance, often taken amongst other tropical midwater fishes by hook and line, while juveniles are occasionally caught in beach seines. African pompano are also highly rated game fish, often considered one of the strongest of the jacks in larger sizes.

Makaira mazara can reach a maximum length of 5 metres (16 ft), but the average is around 3.5 metres (11 ft). It can reach a weight of about 625 kilograms (1,378 lb).[1] Body is elongated but it is not very compressed, with two dorsal fins and two anal fins. Dorsal fins have a total of 40 to 45 soft rays, while anal fins have 18 to 24 soft rays. The pectoral fins, which have 21 to 23 rays, are falcate and flexible, and can be drawn in to the sides of the body. Nape is highly elevated. The upper jaw forms a robust but not very long beak, round in cross section. Caudal peduncle shows strong double keels on each side. Body color is blue-black dorsally and silvery white ventrally, sometimes with light blue vertical stripes.

The name ‘Hamour’ or ‘Hammour’ (Arabic: هَامُّوْر‎, romanized: Hāmmūr) is used to describe a number of fish, including the Brown spotted reef cod (Epinephelus chlorostigma). At the same time, it is the name given to a variety of closely related fish species in the Persian Gulf.

The Sherry Fish species is commonly found at approximately 87 cm in length, but grows to 70 cm. It is yellow to yellowish-brown or bronze in colour, the belly being lighter. It has scattered blue markings over the body. The cheeks have no scales and may have a vertical blue markings. It has whitish or yellowish fins with a yellowish-edged dorsal fin.

Sultan Ibrahim Fish is popular for its firm meat and vibrant red color. Characterized by a sweet, nutty flavour, Ibrahim fish is an excellent source of calcium and iron. Taste freshness in every bite when you shop for Ibrahim fish at Danube.

The rainbow runner’s body is atypical of the jack family, which generally have deep, compressed bodies. The rainbow runner has a subcylindrical, elongated to almost fusiform body, with a long, pointed head and snout and a tapering rear end before the caudal fin emerges. The eyes are relatively small and the teeth are arranged on jaws in villiform bands, with minute teeth also present on the roof of the mouth and tongue. The fish has two dorsal fins, although the posterior rays of the long second fin have separated into a finlet. The first dorsal consists of six spines, the second of a single spine and 25 to 30 soft rays, with the last two as a separate finlet. About 4% of rainbow runners have only five spines in the first dorsal fin, and are apparently born without them. The anal fin consists of one spine detached from the fin anteriorally, while the main fin has a single spine and 18 to 22 soft rays, with the last two detached to form a finlet like the dorsal fin. The dorsal and anal fins are quite low, and the dorsal fin is much longer than the anal. The pectoral fin is small for a carangid, about the length of the pelvic fin and is not falcate, with 20 rays. The pelvic fin consists of one spine and five branched soft rays. The caudal fin is also highly diagnostic, being deeply forked and consisting of 17 caudal rays, 9 dorsally and 8 ventrally. The lateral line has a slight anterior arch and no scutes are present on the line, but possesses about 100 scales. The scales covering the body and parts of the operculum, cheek, pectoral fins, pelvic fins, and caudal fins are ctenoid in shape. The species has 24 vertebrae.

The colour of the fish is possibly the easiest way to identify the rainbow runner, with the name taken from the species’ striking colours. The upper body is a dark olive blue to green and fades to white underneath. Two narrow, light blue to bluish white stripes run longitudinally along the sides, with a broader olive to yellow stripe between them. The maximum length of the species is somewhat contentious, with most sources giving a known maximum length between 107 and 120 cm (42 and 47 in) cm, while one source asserts the species reaches 180 cm (71 in) in length. The maximum known weight is confidently known to be 46.2 kg, as recorded by the International Game Fish Association.

Great barracudas are large fish. Mature specimens are usually around 60–100 cm (24–39 in) in length and weigh 2.5–9.0 kg (5.5–19.8 lb). Exceptionally large specimens can exceed 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and weigh over 23 kg (51 lb). The record-sized specimen caught on rod-and-reel weighed 46.72 kg (103.0 lb) and measured 1.7 m (5.6 ft), while an even longer example measured 2 m (6.6 ft). The largest specimens can grow up to 3 m (9.8 ft), making it the largest of the barracudas.

These big Red Snappers are caught off deep ledges and jagged reefs in depths of 350 to 600 feet of water. We have Pristipomoides filamentosus has an elongated, robust body which is has a depth of roughly a third of its standard length. The space between the eyes is flat and it has a slightly protruding lower jaw. In both upper and lower jaws there is an outer row of conical and canine-like teeth, the front pair of canines is not highly enlarged, and an inner band of bristle-like teeth. The vomerine teeth are arranged in a triangular patch and there are no teeth on the tongue. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 12 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The bases of both the dorsal and anal fins lack scales and the last soft ray of each of these fins is extended into a short filament. The pectoral fin are long extending as far as the anus and contain 15 or 16 rays. The caudal fin is forked. This species has an overall colour which may be brownish to pinkish, lavender or reddish purple marked with slender yellow lines and blue spots on its snout and the flat space between its eyes. The dorsal and caudal fins are pale blue to lavender and have reddish-orange margins. This species attains a maximum total length of 100 cm (39 in), although 50 cm (20 in) is more typical, and a maximum published weight of 8.2 kg (18 lb).

Its body is elongated and covered with small, scarcely visible scales; the back is an iridescent blue, while the sides are silvery with a pattern of irregular vertical blue bars. These colors fade rapidly during death. The mouth is large, and the teeth of the wahoo are razor sharp. Both the upper and lower jaws have a somewhat sharper appearance than those of king or Spanish mackerel. Specimens have been recorded at up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in length, and weighing up to 83 kg (183 lb). Growth can be rapid. They are among the fastest fish in the sea.

The wahoo may be distinguished from the related Atlantic king mackerel and from the Indo-Pacific narrow-barred Spanish mackerel by a fold of skin which covers the mandible when its mouth is closed. In contrast, the mandible of the king mackerel is always visible as it is also the case for the smaller Spanish mackerel and Cero mackerel. The teeth of the wahoo are similar to those of king mackerel, but shorter and more closely set together.

The barracuda is sometimes confused with the mackerel and wahoo, but it is easy to distinguish from the latter two species. Barracuda have prominent scales, larger, dagger-like teeth, and lack the caudal keels and blade-like (forked) tail characteristic of the scombrids.

Amberjack is an Atlantic and Pacific fish in the genus Seriola of the family Carangidae. They are a game fish, most often found in the warmer parts of the oceans. There are many variations of Amberjack, including greater amberjack (Atlantic), lesser amberjack (Atlantic), Almaco jack (Pacific), yellowtail (Pacific), and the banded rudderfish (Atlantic).

Mahi-mahi have compressed bodies and a single long-based dorsal fin extending from the head almost to the tail. Mature males have prominent foreheads protruding well above the body proper. Females have a rounded head. Their caudal fins and anal fins are sharply concave. They are distinguished by dazzling colors – golden on the sides, and bright blues and greens on the sides and back. The pectoral fins of the mahi-mahi are iridescent blue. The flank is broad and golden. Out of the water, the fish often change color (giving rise to their Spanish name, dorado, “golden”), going through several hues before finally fading to a muted yellow-grey upon death.

Mahi-mahi can live for up to five years, although they seldom exceed four. Females are usually smaller than males. Catches typically are 7 to 13 kg (15 to 29 lb) and a meter in length. They rarely exceed 15 kg (33 lb), and mahi-mahi over 18 kg (40 lb) are exceptional. Mahi-mahi are among the fastest-growing of fish. They spawn in warm ocean currents throughout much of the year, and their young are commonly found in rafts of Sargassum weeds. Young Mahi Mahi migrate past Malta where they are called Lampuki and Sicily where they are known as Lampuga or Capone; there they are fished using nets and floating mats of palm leaves under which they collect.

Mahi-mahi are carnivorous, feeding on flying fish, crabs, squid, mackerel, and other forage fish. They have also been known to eat zooplankton.

Males and females are sexually mature in their first year, usually by the age of 4–5 months. Spawning can occur at body lengths of 20 cm (7.9 in). Females may spawn two to three times per year, and produce between 80,000 and 1,000,000 eggs per event. In waters at 28 °C/83 °F, mahi-mahi larvae are found year-round, with greater numbers detected in spring and fall. Mahi-mahi fish are mostly found in the surface water. Their flesh is grey-white when raw, cooking to an attractive white with a clean, non-fishy flavour. The body is slightly slender and long, making them fast swimmers; they can swim as fast as 50 knots (92.6 km/h, 57.5 mph).

Thunnus tonggol is a species of tuna of tropical Indo-West Pacific waters.

It is commonly known as the longtail tuna or northern bluefin tuna. The usage of the latter name, mainly in Australia to distinguish it from the southern bluefin tuna, leads to easy confusion with Thunnus thynnus of the Atlantic and Thunnus orientalis of the North Pacific. Compared to these “true” bluefins, Thunnus tonggol is more slender and has shorter pectoral fins.

Thunnus tonggol reaches 145 centimetres (57 in) in length and 35.9 kilograms (79 lb) in weight. Compared to similar-sized tunas, its growth is slower and it lives longer, which may make it vulnerable to overfishing.

The yellowfin tuna is among the larger tuna species, reaching weights over 180 kg (400 lb), but is significantly smaller than the Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tunas, which can reach over 450 kg (990 lb), and slightly smaller than the bigeye tuna and the southern bluefin tuna.

The second dorsal fin and the anal fin, as well as the finlets between those fins and the tail, are bright yellow, giving this fish its common name. The second dorsal and anal fins can be very long in mature specimens, reaching almost as far back as the tail and giving the appearance of sickles or scimitars. The pectoral fins are also longer than the related bluefin tuna, but not as long as those of the albacore. The main body is a very dark metallic blue, changing to silver on the belly, which has about 20 vertical lines.

Reported sizes in the literature have ranged as high as 2.4 m (94 in) in length and 200 kg (440 lb) in weight. The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) record for this species stands at 176 kg (388 lb) for a fish caught in 1977 near San Benedicto Island in the Pacific waters of Mexico. In 2010, a 184-kg yellowfin was caught off the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, 2.2-metre (87 in) long with a girth of 1.5 m (59 in). The catch is still pending verification by the IGFA. In 2012, a fisherman in Baja California caught a 193-kg yellowfin. If the catch is confirmed by the IGFA, the fisherman will receive a prize of $1 million.

Considered by many scientists the fastest fish in the ocean, sailfish grow quickly, reaching 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft) in length in a single year, and feed on the surface or at middle depths on smaller pelagic forage fish and squid. Sailfish were previously estimated to reach maximum swimming speeds of 35 m/s (130 km/h; 78 mph), but research published in 2015 and 2016 indicate sailfish do not exceed speeds between 10–15 m/s. During predator–prey interactions, sailfish reached burst speeds of 7 m/s (25 km/h; 16 mph) and did not surpass 10 m/s (36 km/h; 22 mph). Generally, sailfish do not grow to more than 3 m (9.8 ft) in length and rarely weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). Sailfish have been reported to use their bills for hitting schooling fish by tapping (short-range movement) or slashing (horizontal large-range movement) at them.

The sail is normally kept folded down when swimming and only raised when the sailfish attack their prey. The raised sail has been shown to reduce sideways oscillations of the head, which is likely to make the bill less detectable by prey fish. This strategy allows sailfish to put their bills close to fish schools or even into them without being noticed by the prey before hitting them.

Sailfish usually attack one at a time, and the small teeth on their bills inflict injuries on their prey fish in terms of scale and tissue removal. Typically, about two prey fish are injured during a sailfish attack, but only 24% of attacks result in capture. As a result, injured fish increase in number over time in a fish school under attack. Given that injured fish are easier to catch, sailfish benefit from the attacks of their conspecifics but only up to a particular group size. A mathematical model showed that sailfish in groups of up to 70 individuals should gain benefits in this way. The underlying mechanism was termed protoco-operation because it does not require any spatial co-ordination of attacks and could be a precursor to more complex forms of group hunting.

The bill movement of sailfish during attacks on fish is usually either to the left or to the right side. Identification of individual sailfish based on the shape of their dorsal fins identified individual preferences for hitting to the right or left side. The strength of this side preference was positively correlated with capture success. These side-preferences are believed to be a form of behavioural specialization that improves performance. However, a possibility exists that sailfish with strong side preferences could become predictable to their prey because fish could learn after repeated interactions in which direction the predator will hit. Given that individuals with right- and left-sided preferences are about equally frequent in sailfish populations, living in groups possibly offers a way out of this predictability. The larger the sailfish group, the greater the possibility that individuals with right- and left-sided preferences are about equally frequent. Therefore, prey fish should find it hard to predict in which direction the next attack will take place. Taken together, these results suggest a potential novel benefit of group hunting which allows individual predators to specialize in their hunting strategy without becoming predictable to their prey.

The injuries that sailfish inflict on their prey appear to reduce their swimming speeds, with injured fish being more frequently found in the back (compared with the front) of the school than uninjured ones. When a sardine school is approached by a sailfish, the sardines usually turn away and flee in the opposite direction. As a result, the sailfish usually attacks sardine schools from behind, putting at risk those fish that are the rear of the school because of their reduced swimming speeds.

Some sources indicate that sailfish are capable of changing colours as a method of confusing prey, displaying emotion, and/or communicating with other sailfish.

Sailfish in some areas are reliant on coral reefs as areas for feeding and breeding. As witnessed in the Arabian gulf, the disappearance of coral reefs in a sailfish’s habitat can in some cases to the disappearance of the species from that area.

Compared to striped or white marlins and sailfish, black marlins are more solid than their blue counterparts. They have a shorter bill and a rounder and lower dorsal fin. Black marlin may be distinguished from all other marlin species by their rigid pectoral fins, which, especially from a weight of around 68 kilograms (150 lb), are unable to be pressed flat against their sides but can be tilted further backwards for reduced drag.

The striped marlin (Kajikia audax) is a species of marlin found in tropical to temperate Indo-Pacific oceans not far from the surface. It is a desirable commercial and game fish with a record weight (in 1982) of over 200 kg (440 lb) and a maximum length of 4.2 m (13.8 ft). The striped marlin’ is a predator that hunts during the day in the top 100 m or so of the water column, often near the surface. One of their chief prey is sardines.