Amberjacks are
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
in the genus ''
Seriola
''Seriola'' is a genus of ray-finned fish, with many species commonly known as amberjacks. Nine extant species are currently recognized, although these were formerly split into many more. Also, several species are currently placed in several ot ...
'' of the family
Carangidae
The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only family ...
. They are widely consumed across the world in various cultures, most notably for Pacific amberjacks in Japanese cuisine; they are most often found in the warmer parts of the oceans.
There are many variations of amberjack, including
greater amberjack
The greater amberjack (''Seriola dumerili''), also known as the allied kingfish, great amberfish, greater yellowtail, jenny lind, Sea donkey, purplish amberjack, reef donkey, rock salmon, sailors choice, yellowtail, and yellow trevally, is a spec ...
(Atlantic), lesser amberjack (Atlantic),
Almaco jack
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 sam ...
(Pacific), yellowtail (Pacific), and the banded rudderfish (Atlantic). Though most of the Seriola species are considered "amberjacks", the species
Seriola hippos (samson fish) is not.
Atlantic types
Greater amberjacks
Greater amberjacks, ''Seriola dumerili'', are the largest of the jacks. They usually have dark stripes extending from nose to in front of their
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...
s. They have no scutes and soft dorsal bases less than twice the length of the anal fin bases. They are usually 18 kg (40 pounds) or less, and are found associated with rocky reefs, debris, and wrecks, typically in 20 to 75 m (10 to 40
fathoms
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally-accepted non-SI unit. Hi ...
). Greater amberjacks are also found in the Pacific.
Lesser amberjacks
Lesser amberjacks, ''
Seriola fasciata
The lesser amberjack (''Seriola fasciata''), also known as the false amberjack or little amberjack, is a species of ray-finned fish from the Family (biology), family Carangidae, the jacks and pompanos.
It occurs in the Atlantic Ocean. In the west ...
'', have proportionately larger eyes and deeper bodies than greater amberjacks. They are olive green or brownish-black with silver sides, and usually have a dark band extending upward from their eyes. Juveniles have split or wavy bars on their sides. The adults are usually under 5 kg (10 lbs). They are found deeper than other jacks, commonly 50 to 130 m (30 to 70 fathoms).
Amberjacks are voracious predators, which feed on
squid
True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...
, fish, and
crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s, and are thought to spawn offshore throughout most of the year.
Juveniles can be caught in about of water, near floating objects.
Banded rudderfish
Banded rudderfish, ''
Seriola zonata
The banded rudderfish (''Seriola zonata''), also known as the slender amberjack, banded mackerel or shark pilot, is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Carangidae, the jacks and pompanos from the western Atlantic Ocean.
Description
Band ...
'', is the second-smallest amberjack. This jack can be distinguished from the
pilot fish
The pilot fish (''Naucrates ductor'') is a carnivorous fish of the trevally, or jackfish family, Carangidae. It is widely distributed and lives in warm or tropical open seas.
Description
The pilot fish congregates around sharks, rays, and sea ...
by the presence of a first dorsal fin. Juveniles are banded vertically like pilotfish, and follow large objects or animals. Large individuals (over 10 inches) have no bands. This fish, though commonly caught, is rarely identified. Large ones, with a raccoon-stripe on the eye and an iridescent gold stripe on the side, are usually called amberjacks when caught, and juveniles are called pilotfish. They are found as far north as
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. They are less dependent on
sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...
, etc., than pilotfish. They can be caught on shrimp, silversides, lures (e.g. spoons), and flies.
Others
Other species exist in other parts of the world, such as:
yellowtail amberjack
The yellowtail amberjack, yellowtail kingfish, hiramasa or great amberjack (''Seriola lalandi'') is a large fish found in the Southern Ocean. Although previously thought to be found in all oceans and seas, recent genetic analysis restricts ''S. ...
(including the Asian yellowtail, the California yellowtail, and
yellowtail kingfish
The yellowtail amberjack, yellowtail kingfish, hiramasa or great amberjack (''Seriola lalandi'') is a large fish found in the Southern Ocean. Although previously thought to be found in all oceans and seas, recent genetic analysis restricts ''S. ...
or southern yellowtail),
Almaco jack
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 sam ...
, and
Japanese amberjack
The Japanese amberjack or yellowtail, ''Seriola quinqueradiata'', is a species of jack fish in the family Carangidae. It is native to the northwest Pacific Ocean, ranging from China (called ), Korea (called ), and Japan to Hawaii.
It is greatl ...
(five-ray yellowtail).
Biology
Amberjacks are
predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
. They feed on
pelagic
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...
and
benthic
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...
fish. Their prey also includes
squid
True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...
and crustaceans, as well as
sardines
"Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the I ...
and
bigeye scad. Younger juvenile jacks tend to feed on
plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...
and small invertebrates.
Greater Amberjacks mature at around 4 years old, and
migrate in late spring to early summer (March to June) to reproduce. They migrate to deeper water to spawn, producing their young near shipwrecks or large objects as a safe haven.
Females are much larger than males, and have a higher life expectancy. The maximum
lifespan for females is 17 years, whilst the average is 10 due to popular demand for them in
big game fishing
Big-game fishing, also known as offshore sportfishing, offshore gamefishing or blue-water fishing, is a form of recreational fishing targeting large game fish, usually done on a large body of water such as the ocean.
History
Big-game fishing st ...
and as a high-quality food fish.
Amberjacks are not top of the
food chain
A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web starting from producer organisms (such as grass or algae which produce their own food via photosynthesis) and ending at an apex predator species (like grizzly bears or killer whales), det ...
in their habitat, and therefore are prone to being prey for
Yellowfin Tuna
The yellowfin tuna (''Thunnus albacares'') is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.
Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian language, Hawaiian , a name also used there for the closel ...
,
sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...
and other larger fish.
References
{{Reflist
Carangidae
Fish common names
Fish of Pakistan
Fish of Hawaii