Guide
to the Coastal Resources of Guam: Vol. 1
THE FISHES
Steven S. AMESBURY Robert F. MYERS
|
CARANGIDAE (JACKS)
The Bluefin Trevally is the most abundant and ubiquitous carangid at Guam and throughout much of the tropical Pacific. It occurs in all inshore marine habitats from turbid inner harbors and channels to reef flats and outer reef slopes at depths of 140 m or more. In the Marianas, juveniles, called Ee locally, appear in large numbers in shallow, sandy inner reef flats from May to December. They are harvested primarily by cast net or by angling using a small rubber lure. Adults range widely throughout deeper lagoon and outer reef waters and usually enter channels and shallow reef areas during late afternoon and early morning hours (possibly throughout the night) to feed on free-swimming fishes and crustaceans. Adult Bluefin Trevally usually occur singly or in small schools, but at the south tip of Peleliu in Palau (and probably elsewhere in Micronesia) an enormous aggregation of over 1000 individuals gather during the April new moon to spawn. Large individuals are caught by angling in channels and along the reef margin or by trolling near shallow reefs. Although it is an excellent food-fish, large Bluefin Trevally are occasionally ciguatoxic in some areas. INDO-PAN-PACIFIC: E. Africa to Panama, n. to the Ryukyus and Hawaii, s. to Mauritius, New Caledonia, and Ducie.
|
