SECTION 12 



Bluefish {Pomatomus saltatvix) 



Life History Summary 



The bluefish is a pelagic, migratory species that occurs world-wide in 

 temperate and semitropical regions. In the western North Atlantic Ocean, it 

 ranges from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean Sea. In the Mid-Atlantic, bluefish 

 travel in groups of similarly sized fish. Generally they migrate north and 

 inshore during the spring and summer, and south and offshore during the 

 fall. In the New York Bight, bluefish are most abundant in late summer but 

 usually appear first during May. 



The bluefish is one of the most valuable sport and food finfish species 

 found in the Middle Atlantic Bight. Commercially, fishermen take them in 

 quantity in all coastal areas of the Bight using gill nets, seines, pound 

 nets, and otter trawls. Although there is a significant commercial fishery 

 for bluefish, landings from recreational fishermen dwarf those of commercial 

 fishermen. According to Boreman (1983), bluefish was the number one 

 recreational species caught, by weight, in the US during 1970-1982. 



Bluefish mature during their second year of life. There appear to be two 

 discrete spawning populations off the eastern US coast: one wnich spawns near 

 the inner edge of the Gulf Stream from southern Florida to North Carolina 

 during the spring (mainly in April and May); and a second which spawns in the 

 Middle Atlantic Bight during the summer (mainly in June and August). Spawning 

 for both groups progresses from south to north and the pelagic eggs hatch 

 about two days after spawning. 



Young bluefish which were spawned in the spring spend their first summer 

 in Mid-Atlantic estuaries, mostly in the New York Bight and southern New 



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