Longfin yellowtail

Description

The longfin yellowtail (Seriola rivoliana), also known as the almaco or silvercoat jack, deep-water, falcate, European or highfin amberjack, rock salmon, longfin or yellow kingfish, is a game fish of the family Carangidae; they are in the same family as yellowtail and amberjack. They are carnivorous and feed, both day and night, on other, smaller fish such as baitfish and small squid. The flesh is thick and dense, like tuna, and easily may be passed off for white albacore if prepared as sushi. The longfin yellowtail has a less elongated, more flattened body than most jack species. Their dorsal fin and anal fins are elongated, and their outer edges have a definite sickle shape. The first rays of the almaco dorsal fin's longest parts are nearly twice as long as the dorsal spines, also different from other jacks. They reach a typical length of 90 centimetres (35 in), sometimes reaching 160 centimetres (63 in) and 59.9 kilograms (132 lb). Typical catch is approximately ten pounds, however, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which describes it as wide-ranging in small groups and not a common catch. Generally, longfin yellowtails are dusky-colored with faint amber or olive stripes down their sides. Their upper bodies and lower fins usually are dark brown or dark blue-green. The belly is much lighter and appears brassy or lavender. The nuchal bar and most of the fins are dark on adults. Exceptions are the pelvic fins which are white on the ventral sides. The longfin yellowtail is a pelagic species, which are found in open-ocean zones in the vast deep waters beyond the continental shelf. This species may be found in small groups on slopes and off reefs at depths from 5 to 160 metres (2.7 to 87.5 fathoms). They visit wrecks more often than most other jacks do. In the Indian to the west Pacific oceans, almaco jack live from Kenya to South Africa and have been spotted off Mariana Islands, Wake island, Ryukyu Islands, Kermadec Islands, and New Caledonia. In the eastern Pacific, almaco jack live from California to Peru and the Galápagos Islands. In the western Atlantic, they live mostly from Cape Cod to northern Argentina, although they are rare off North and South Carolina. Almaco jack are not so common in the Eastern Atlantic as elsewhere. Almaco live near Great Britain and off Lampedusa in the Mediterranean Sea. They typically swim at depths ranging from 5–35 metres (16–115 ft).