Florida pompano 



Trachinotus carolinus 

 Adult 



8 cm 



(from Goode 1884) 



Common Name: Florida pompano 

 Scientific Name: Trachinotus carolinus 

 Other Common Names: pompano, common pom- 

 pano, Atlantic pompano, sunfish, pampano amarillo 

 (Spanish), pompaneau sole (French) (Hildebrand and 

 Schroeder 1928, Gunter 1945, Arnold et al. 1960, 

 Gunterand Hall 1 965, Hoese 1 965, Parker 1 965, Berry 

 and Iversen 1967, Fischer 1978, Benson 1982, NOAA 

 1985). 



Classification (Robins et al. 1991) 

 Phylum: Chordata 

 Class: Osteichthyes 

 Order: Perciformes 

 Family: Carangidae 



Value 



Commercial : This fish is highly desired due to its 

 excellent flavor and high market value. Although 

 catches are not large and are often unpredictable, the 

 Florida pompano supports an important fishery along 

 the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts, with 

 Florida the leading producer. Most fish caught in 

 Florida are landed during winter on the west coast from 

 Monroe County to Charlotte County, primarily south of 

 Cape Romano. Commercially harvested fish enterthe 

 market at total lengths (TL) of 250-360 mm and 0.5-0.7 

 kg. They were historically harvested mostly by tram- 

 mel nets, but with the advent of nylon monofilament 

 most are now taken by gill nets (Hildebrand and 

 Schroeder 1928, Gunter 1945, Fields 1962, Berry and 

 Iversen 1967, Finucane 1969a, Iversen and Berry 

 1 969, Bellinger and Avault 1 970). 



Recreational : Florida pompano are a favorite fish among 

 anglers due to their high quality as a food fish and their 

 fighting ability on light tackle. An estimated 269,000 



fish were caught by anglers during 1991 in the Gulf of 

 Mexico (Van Voorhees et al. 1992). Pompano are 

 usually caught by bottom fishing offshore, or by casting 

 from shore or boat (Gunter 1945, Berry and Iversen 

 1967, Iversen and Berry 1969, Bellinger and Avault 

 1970). 



Indicator of Environmental Stress : Florida pompano 

 are not typically used in studies of environmental 

 stress. 



Ecological : The Florida pompano is found in coastal 

 and estuarine waters, where it is a generalized carni- 

 vore feeding primarily on benthic prey. Juveniles can 

 be a dominant species of the surf zone (Gunter 1958, 

 Bellinger and Avault 1971, Benson 1982). 



Range 



Overall : The Florida pompano is found in the coastal 

 waters from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to southeast- 

 ern Brazil. It is widely distributed but uncommon 

 among islands of the West Indies, being most abun- 

 dant along continental waters. It is also uncommon 

 north of Cape Hatteras, and the highest abundance 

 occurs along the Florida coast (Hildebrand and 

 Schroeder 1 928, Fields 1 962, Berry and Iversen 1 967, 

 Iversen and Berry 1969, Gilbert 1986, Shipp 1986). 



Within Study Area : This species occurs throughout the 

 Gulf of Mexico, but is most abundant along the west 

 coast of Florida from Florida Bay to Charlotte Harbor 

 (Table 5.29) (Hoese and Moore1977, Fischer 1978, 

 Gilbert 1986). In the western Gulf of Mexico, it is 

 apparently more common south of the Rio Grande, in 

 Mexico, than in Texas (Hildebrand 1954). 



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