Wahoo
| Wahoo | |
|---|---|
| |
| Wahoo | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Family: | Scombridae |
| Tribe: | Scomberomorini |
| Genus: | Acanthocybium Gill , 1862
|
| Species: | A. solandri
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| Binomial name | |
| Acanthocybium solandri | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh makes it a prized and valued game fish.
Description
Its body is elongated and the back is an iridescent blue, while the sides are silvery with a pattern of irregular vertical blue bars. These colors fade rapidly at 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).[3][4] The growth of the fish can be quite quick.[4] They are among the fastest fish in the sea.[citation needed]
The wahoo may be distinguished from the related Atlantic
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 and larger, dagger-like teeth, and lack the caudal keels and blade-like (forked) tail characteristic of the scombrids.[citation needed]
Distribution
Wahoo have a circumtropical distribution and are found in Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.[5] Population genomic research using RAD sequencing indicates that two weakly differentiated fish stocks are in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans, likely with a considerable degree of migration and gene flow between these populations.[5]
Life cycle
The eggs of the species are buoyant and the larvae are pelagic.[5] Wahoo tend to be solitary[6] or occur in loose-knit groups of two or three fish.[7] Where conditions are suitable, they can be found in schools around 100 or more.[citation needed]
Ecology
Their diet is made up of other fish and squid.[4] From a study surrounding the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), an analysis of the stomach contents of wahoo indicated that their diet consists of 84.64% native fish, 14.26% cephalopods (e.g. cuttlefish), and 1.1% crustaceans. The gender ratio of wahoo favors females over males with ratios ranging from 1:0.9 (Puerto Rico) to 3.5:1 (North Carolina), which is common for most pelagic marine species.[8]
Most wahoo taken from waters have a trematode parasite, the giant stomach worm (Hirudinella ventricosa), living in their stomachs, but it does not appear to harm the fish.[9][10]
Fisheries
The flesh of the wahoo is white and/or grey, delicate to dense, and highly regarded by many cuisines. The taste has been said to be similar to mackerel.[11] This has created some demand for the wahoo as a premium-priced commercial food fish. In many areas of its range, such as Hawaii, Bermuda, and many parts of the Caribbean, local demand for the wahoo is met by artisanal commercial fishermen who take them primarily by trolling.[citation needed]
Commercial
Although local wahoo populations can be affected by heavy commercial and sport-fishing pressure, wahoo as a species is less susceptible to industrial commercial fishing than more tightly schooling and abundant species such as tuna. Wahoo are regularly taken as a bycatch in various commercial fisheries, including
Recreational
In most parts of its range, the wahoo is a highly prized
Wahoo are most successfully fished with live bait around deep-water oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico during the winter.[14]
Local names
In Hawaii, the wahoo is known as "ono".[15] The species is sometimes called "hoo" in the United States.[14]
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Cuvier G. & Valenciennes A. (January 1832). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome huitième. Livre neuvième. Des Scombéroïdes. Historie naturelle des poissons. v. 8: i-xix + 5 pp. + 1-509, Pls. 209-245. [Cuvier authored pp. 1-470; Valenciennes 471-509. Date of 1831 on title page. i-xv + 1-375 in Strasbourg edition.]
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Acanthocybium solandri" in FishBase. February 2018 version.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4556-0032-8.
- ^ hdl:11343/298583.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4027-7051-7.
- ISBN 978-0-9787278-0-2.
- .
- ^ "Wahoo Fast Facts". Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
- ^ Williams Jr., William H.; Bunkley-Williams, Lucy (1996). "Parasites of Offshore Big Game Fishes of Puerto Rico and the Western Atlantic" (PDF). University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-4711-2750-2.
- ^ a b "Dolphin/Wahoo". South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
- ^ "Fishery Management Plan for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic" (PDF). South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. January 2003. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
- ^ a b Sloan, Robert (September 21, 2007). "Live-Line A 'Hoo". Saltwater Sportsman. Bonnier. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ "Wahoo (Ono)". Hawaii-Seafood.org. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
Further reading
- Zischke, Mitchell T.; Griffiths, Shane P.; Tibbetts, Ian R. (22 May 2013). "Rapid growth of wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) in the Coral Sea, based on length-at-age estimates using annual and daily increments on sagittal otoliths". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 20 (6): 1128–1139. .
- Zischke, Mitchell T.; Farley, Jessica H.; Griffiths, Shane P.; Tibbetts, Ian R. (December 2013). "Reproductive biology of wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri, off eastern Australia". Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 23 (4): 491–506. S2CID 6010481.
External links
- Atlantic wahoo NOAA FishWatch. Retrieved 13 November 2012.