(DRAFT) - Taxonomy
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
TAXONOMY
NAME - bluefish
OTHER COMMON NAMES - blue, tailor, elf, fatback, snapper, snap mackerel, skipjack, skip mackerel, horse mackerel, greenfish and chopper
ELEMENT CODE -
CATEGORY - Fish
PHYLUM AND SUBPHYLUM - Chordata,
CLASS AND SUBCLASS - Osteichthyes, Teleostei
ORDER AND SUBORDER - Perciformes,
FAMILY AND SUBFAMILY - Pomatomidae,
GENUS AND SUBGENUS - Pomatomus,
SPECIES AND SSP - saltatrix,
SCIENTIFIC NAME - Pomatomus saltatrix
AUTHORITY - Linnaeus
TAXONOMY REFERENCES - 18
COMMENTS ON TAXONOMY -
The bluefish is the only living species in the family Pomatomidae, whose
closest relatives are the jacks and pompanos, family Carangidae. Several
geographical races of P. saltatrix are recognized (Lund 1961).
Taxonomy - 1 (DRAFT) - Status
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
STATUS
Coded Status
Sport Fish
Game (Consumptive Recreational)
Commercial
Commercial/consumption
Pending, FMP is currently in preparation
Migrant
REFERENCES FOR STATUS - 18 and 99
COMMENTS ON STATUS -
Bluefish are a migratory, pelagic species.*99*
Bluefish comprise less than 1% of the U.S. Atlantic coast commercial fish ery
landings, in terms of both weight and dollar value; but the commercial catch
has tripled over the past two decades (Wild 1977; Thompson 1986), and recent
trends in U.S. fish consumption indicate economic incentives for much
greater catches: Per capita consumption of edible fish and shellfish in the
United States during 1985 was 20% greater than during 1975, and 50% greater
than during 1965. "Nutritional demands of consumers, as well as improving
methods of catching, handling, and processing seafoods may reasonably be
expected to lead to greater consumption levels in future years" (Thompson
1986).
In contrast to its commercial importance, the recreational value of this
species is enormous. Bluefish comprise about 15% by numbers and nearly
twice as much by weight of Atlantic coast sport fish landings. About 90% of
the average 55 million kg of bluefish taken annually over the past 7 years
(about 8 times more than the commercial catch) were hooked by anglers in the
mid-Atlantic region (Holliday 1984, 1985a, 1985b, 1986).
Because bluefish are abundant along most of the east coast, easy to catch,
good to eat, and provide an unusually long fishing season, they have
remained popular with sport fishermen since the 1800's. "No other species
is as important to all sorts of anglers... It is unlikely that any other
species could completely replace it, were it to disappear" (Wilk 1977).*18*
A bluefish Fishery Management Plan was completed in 1984 by the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council in cooperation with the NMFS, New England and
South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, and the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission. However, the plan was rejected by the Secretary of
Commerce. Although the Plan was rejected, bluefish remained a major value to
the nation and public concerns about bluefish overexploitation were not
abated. Subsequently, the Fishery Management Councils and the ASMFC agreed
to proceed jointly on the development of a new bluefish management plan
containing compatible management measures that could be enacted in both
state and federal waters. The draft plan is dated September 1988.*99*
Status - 1 (DRAFT) - Distribution
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
DISTRIBUTION
Distribution - 1 HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS
NATIONAL WETLAND INVENTORY CODES
NWI NWICLS NWIMOD NWISPEC
Estuarine
Estuarine
Marine
Marine
Marine
Habitat Associations - 1 (DRAFT) - Food Habits
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
FOOD HABITS
TROPHIC LEVEL -
CARNIVORE
REFERENCES FOR TROPHIC LEVEL - 18
LIFESTAGE FOOD FOOD PART
Larva See Comments; Food Adult stage
Adult Squid, Octopus Adult stage
Adult See Comments; Food Adult stage
General Crustaceans Not Specified
General Osteichthyes Not Specified
REFERENCES FOR GENERAL FOOD - 18
REFERENCES FOR ADULT FOOD - 18
REFERENCES FOR LARVAE FOOD - 18
COMMENTS ON ADULT FOOD -
Food and Feeding
Bluefish are voracious predators throughout their lives, relying primarily
on vision to detect prey, although their olfactory sense is also
well-developed (Olla et al. 1970; Wilk 1977). Food habits of larvae and
early juveniles have not been well studied, but they presumably select
various zooplankton, including larvae of other pelagic-spawning fishes
(Norcross et al. 1974; Kendall and Walford 1979). Young-of-the-year
arriving in the coastal nursery areas feed on small shrimp, anchovies,
killifish, silversides, and many other available prey; those remaining at
sea probably find small pelagic fishes and crustaceans as forage. As their
size increases, so does the list of potential prey. A wide variety of fish
and invertebrates have been recovered from bluefish stomachs, including such
unlikely items as the sand dollar (Echinarachnius parma), the sea lamprey
(Petromyzon marinus), various sharks and rays, and the northern puffer
(Sphoeroides maculatus). More typical fare of adults includes the common
squid (Loligo peali), various shrimp and crabs, alewives (Alosa
pseudoharengus), and other shad and herrings, Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia
tyrannus), silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), pinfish (Lagodon
rhomboides), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus),
smaller bluefish, and many other species (Wilk 1977; Richards 1976).*18*
Lassiter (1962) noted the elimination of invertebrates from the diet as
bluefish increase in size. Among young adults the stomach contents
typically include 10% to 20% invertebrates by volume, but larger fish are
almost exclusively piscivorous. Young fish also chop their food into
smaller pieces, making diet analysis more difficult; large adults typically
swallow their prey whole.*18*
Feeding activity peaks in early morning and continues throughout daylight
hours (Lund and Maltezos 1970). In studies of captive bluefish, the
normally close-knit school breaks up during feeding as individuals break
away to chase particular prey. The fish regroup a few minutes after the
Food Habits - 1 (DRAFT) - Food Habits
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
prey have been consumed. Fish satiated on small prey resume feeding when
larger prey of the same species are offered, suggesting that feeding
motivation is influenced by prey size (Olla et al. 1970).*18*
Food Habits - 2 (DRAFT) - Environment Associations
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
G = General A = Adult
LIM = Limiting RA = Resting Adult
J = Juvenile FA = Feeding Adult
RJ = Resting Juvenile BA = Breeding Adult
FJ = Feeding Juvenile P = Pupae
L = Larvae E = Egg
RL = Resting Larvae
FL = Feeding Larvae
LIFESTAGE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
A Water Temperature: Between 21-27 degrees C
J Water Temperature: Between 15-21 degrees C
A Dissolved Oxygen: Specified in Comments
A
J
REFERENCES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOC_ - 18
COMMENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS -
Temperature:
Temperature is probably the single most important environmental parameter
determining bluefish distribution, migration, feeding, spawning, and
recruitment success (Lund and Maltezos 1970). The 18 to 22 degree C
temperature range for minimum cruising speed corresponds well with the
majority of commercial and recreational bluefish catches, and also with
conditions in the mid-Atlantic bight where summer spawning occurs (Norcross
et al. 1974). The south Atlantic waters between the continental shelf and
the Gulf Stream where spring spawning occurs, average slightly higher, 20
to 26 degrees C.*18*
Salinity:
Juvenile and adult bluefish are moderately euryhaline, occasionally
ascending well into estuaries where salinities may be less than 10 ppt.
Eggs and larvae are probably less adaptable: salanities have been reported
between 35 and 38 ppt in the south Atlantic continental slope waters where
the spring spawners originate, and 30 to 32 in the mid-Atlantic summer
spawning waters. Whether salinity gradients can act as barriers to
migration, as thermal gradients can, has not been determined.*18*
Oxygen:
Pelagic open-ocean fishes are usually not well adapted for low oxygen
conditions. Situations where bluefish have avoided areas of low dissolved
oxygen have been reported.*18*
COMMENTS ON FEEDING JUVENILE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOC_ -
Juveniles drifting north of Cape Hatteras congregate at the Gulf
Stream/continental shelf interface in the mid-Atlantic while shelf waters
are still much cooler. As the season advances, the shelf waters warm, and
the young bluefish make their voyage across the shelf to the estuaries when
Environment Associations - 1 (DRAFT) - Environment Associations
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
shelf temperatures reach 18 to 20 degrees C. These thermal edges
apparently serve as important cues to juvenile migration, insuring that the
young arrive in suitably warm nursery habitats (Kendall and Walford
1979).*18*
Environment Associations - 2 (DRAFT) - Life History
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
LIFE HISTORY
Morphology/Identification
The adult bluefish is an oblong, laterally compressed,
streamlined fish up to 1 m total length (TL), with a large compressed head,
large oblique mouth, belly compressed to a blunt edge, and forked caudal
fin. Coloration is bluish to greenish dorsally, fading to silver ventrally;
a dark blotch at each pectoral fin base is the only distinct marking. Body,
cheeks, and opercles are covered with weakly ctenoid scales, 95 along
lateral line, but the top of the head and the ridge above the cheeks are
unscaled. The anterior spiny dorsal fin, with 8 to 9 spines, is separate
from and lower than the posterior soft dorsal, with 24 to 25 rays. The anal
fin, with 2 to 3 very small spines and 26 to 28 rays, is slightly behind and
about equal in length to the soft dorsal fin. Pectoral fins are rather low
set, and the pelvic fins attach directly beneath them. Maxillae extend to
the rear of the eyes, the premaxillae are protractile, and the lower jaw
projects forward of the mouth. The jaws each have a row of long, unequal,
widely spaced teeth; the vomer, tongue, and palatines have several bands of
villiform teeth. Vertebrae number 24 to 26. (Compiled from Jordan and
Evermann 1896-1900; Bigelow and Schroeder 1953; Miller and Jorgenson
1973).*18*
Reproductive Features
Bluefish are heterosexual and reach sexual maturity during their second
year at about 35 cm fork length (FL). Males mature slightly earlier than
females, but neither growth rate nor ultimate adult size is sexually
dimorphic (Wild 1977; Wilk et al. 1978). The sexes cannot be distinguished
by external features. Lassiter (1962) reported a 2-to-1 female to male
ratio in North Carolina, but Wilk (1977) reported a 1-to-1 sex ratio among
schools of all ages along the entire Atlantic coast. Fecundity of 3- to
4-year-old females ranged from 0.6 to 1.4 million eggs in a small sample
from North Carolina (Lassiter 1962). Fertilization is external; eggs and
sperm are shed into the open sea by migrating schools, without further
prenatal care. Larvae drift and feed among the surface plankton until they
metamorphose and begin their migrations either south or toward the coastal
nursery areas (Kendall and Walford 1979).*18*
Migration:
Fisheries data suggest that most North American bluefish are migratory,
spending their summers from New England to Cape Hatteras, N.C., and their
winters around Florida and the Gulf Stream. Smaller bluefish generally
travel close to shore during both the spring and fall migrations, except
during spawning. Older fish travel near shore in their northern range, but
apparently shift farther offshore in the south with periodic forays toward
the coast, since they appear infrequently but in large schools south of
Virginia, especially during the fall migration (Lund and Maltezos 1970;
Wilk 1977). There also appear to be small non-migratory (or less
migratory) populations in the south Florida and Gulf of Mexico regions
(Barger et al. 1978; Kendall and Walford 1979). The degree of reproductive
isolation of the various Atlantic and gulf coast populations (including
those that are migratory and those that appear to be non-migratory) is
unclear. Wilk (1977) and Matlezos (1970), however, recognize very small
Life History - 1 (DRAFT) - Life History
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
but consistent morphological differences between the two major spawning
aggregations that comprise the mid-Atlantic fishery: a south Atlantic
spring-spawning stock and a mid-Atlantic summer-spawning stock.*18*
The spring-spawning stock arrive at the continental slope/Gulf Stream
interface between north Florida and Cape Hatteras, N.C., mainly in April
and May, from their wintering areas in south Florida or offshore in the
South Atlantic. Spawning occurs in pulses as the schools travel northward.
North of Cape Hatteras the spent adults begin heading toward shore for the
remainder of the warm season. Smaller ones generally turn west sooner and
find their way into Albemarle Sound, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay,
whereas larger ones follow the continental slope farther north and turn
west into Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay, or continue around Cape
Cod to the north Atlantic region. As temperature and photoperiod decline
in autumn, the schools orient southward again, young ones close to shore
and older ones farther offshore (Wilk 1977; Kendall and Walford 1979).*18*
Summer-spawning bluefish arrive over the outer half of the continental
shelf (about 50 to 150 km offshore) between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras from
June through August, probably from the same wintering areas as the spring
spawners. After spawning, adults migrate toward the mid-Atlantic and north
Atlantic coasts, especially Long Island Sound (Lund and Maltezos 1970).
They depart in autumn along with the spring spawners.*18*
REFERENCES FOR LIFE HISTORY- 18
Life History - 2 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
RESULT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
Beneficial Regulating harvest - setting age limits
Beneficial Regulating harvest - setting bag/creel limits
REFERENCES FOR BENEFICIAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES - 18
COMMENTS ON MANAGEMENT PRACTICES -
Recreational and commercial fishing regulations for bluefish in the
mid-Atlantic exist in several states, but lack of enforcement and
inconsistency from state to state limit their effectiveness (Wilk 1977).
The objective of states that do regulate the fishery is generally to limit
the catch of young-of-the-year bluefish, which is thought to promote
successful recruitment into larger, more desirable age classes. The
Magnuson Fishery Conservation Management Act of 1976 created a series of
regional Fishery Management Councils to develop overall management plans for
important species and to coordinate the states' management efforts. The
Mid-Atlantic (New York to Virginia) Fishery Management Council completed a
proposed Fishery Management Plan for bluefish in 1984 in cooperation with
the New England FMC and South Atlantic FMC. The council adopted a
provisional maximum sustained yield (MSY) of 95 million kg annually based
upon MSY estimates by Boreman (1983) and NMFS (1983) and upon the evidence
for increasing recruitment from their trawl surveys. The plan proposed an
allocation of 20% of the total U.S. bluefish catch for commercial fishermen,
mostly in the mid-Atlantic region; the remainder would be allocated to
recreational fishermen (Mid-Atlantic FMC 1984). But the plan was
disapproved by Congress that same year because the bluefish catch in the
federally regulated Fishery Conservation Zone (3 to 200 miles) is only a
fraction of the catch in nearshore (less than 3 miles) state regulated
waters, so Federal regulation was deemed inappropriate (David Keifer,
Mid-Atlantic FMC, pers. comm.). Currently, the three Fishery Management
councils are working with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a
coalition of state agencies, to develop a coast-wide plan to be adopted by
all states in lieu of a federal management plan.*18*
Periodic disease outbreaks over the past 20 years (Mahoney et al. 1973)
suggest that the species is sensitive to coastal water quality degradation,
and therefore coastal land use planners and developers should consider the
effects of their activities upon bluefish populations.*18*
The commercial fishing season from Cape Cod, MA to Delaware Bay is
primarily May through November, with peak catches from July to September.
In Maryland and Virginia, bluefish are caught year-round, with peak catches
earlier in the summer. In North Carolina, the bluefish fishery is
year-round, with peak catches in the winter: small fish are taken in the
sounds and nearshore waters from April through December, and recently, great
quantities of larger fish have been taken offshore during winter (Wilk 1977;
Mid-Atlantic FMC 1984). Fishing gear employed varies widely from state to
state. Hand lines are used in New England when schools of large fish are
feeding; pound nets are common in Chesapeake Bay; traps and seines are
generally used in inshore waters; trawls and gill nets are used both inshore
and offshore in many states. During the last decade, otter trawls, gill
Management Practices - 1 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
nets, and pound nets have yielded about three-fourths of the mid-Atlantic
commercial catch, with seines and hand lines contributing most of the
remainder (Mid-Atlantic FMC 1984).*18*
Spring, summer, and especially fall yield most of the recreational catch
in the mid-Atlantic, but large fish are available year-round in the
southernmost mid-Atlantic and the south Atlantic for anglers venturing
offshore to the Gulf Stream (Wilk 1977). Spring-spawned young-of-the-year
caught during the fall migration, and yearlings of both stocks caught during
spring, are especially popular with novice anglers since they are plentiful
in inshore waters.*18*
Management Practices - 2 (DRAFT) - References
Species bluefish
Species Id M010050
Date 27 AUG 96
References
18* Pottern, G., M. Huish, J. H. Kerby. 1989. Species Profiles: Life
Histories and Environmental Requirments of Coastal Fishes and
Invertebrates (Mid-Atlantic)--Bluefish. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Biol. Rep. 82(11.94) pp 20.
99* Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. 1988. Fishery
Management Plan for the Bluefish Fishery. 9(13). Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council pp 72.
References - 1