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The bluefish ( Pomatomus saltatrix) is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as tailor in Australia and New Zealand, elf and shad in South Africa. It is a popular gamefish and food fish.
The bluefish is a moderately proportioned fish, with a broad, forked tail. The spiny first dorsal fin is normally folded back in a groove, as are its . Coloration is a grayish blue-green dorsally, fading to white on the lower sides and belly. Its single row of teeth in each jaw is uniform in size, knife-edged, and sharp. Bluefish commonly range in size from seven-inch (18-cm) "snappers" to much larger, sometimes weighing as much as , though fish heavier than are exceptional.
Along the U.S. East Coast, bluefish are found off Florida in the winter. By April, they have disappeared, heading north. By June, they may be found off Massachusetts; in years of high abundance, stragglers may be found as far north as Nova Scotia. By October, they leave the waters north of Cape Cod, heading south down the East Coast of the United States from Rhode Island south to Georgia, to the waters off Florida. Some bluefish, perhaps less migratory, are present in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the year.
In a similar pattern overall, the economically significant population that spawns in Europe's Black Sea migrates south through Istanbul (Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles, Aegean Sea) and on toward Turkey's Mediterranean coast in the autumn for the cold season. A campaign was launched in Turkiye by Fikir Sahibi Damaklar (Intelligent Palates) to protect the Bluefish. This was reported on in 2013. More recently, it was reported that bluefish near Istanbul were abundant and that there is a fishing ban every year between April 15 - Sept. 1 to preserve fish eggs and ensure sustainable fish farming. Along the South African coast and environs, movement patterns are roughly in parallel.
In turn, bluefish are preyed upon by larger predators at all stages of their lifecycle. As juveniles, they fall victim to a wide variety of oceanic predators, including striped bass, larger bluefish, fluke (summer flounder), weakfish, tuna, sharks, rays, and dolphins. As adults, bluefish are taken by tuna, sharks, billfish, seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, and many other species.
Bluefish are aggressive and have been known to inflict severe bites on fishermen. Wading or swimming among feeding bluefish schools can be dangerous.Lovko, Vincent J. (2008) Pathogenicity of the Purportedly Toxic Dinoflagellates Pfiesteria Piscicida and Pseudopfiesteria Shumwayae and Related Species ProQuest. . In July 2006, a seven-year-old girl was attacked on a beach, near the Spanish town of Alicante, allegedly by a bluefish. "Un depredador rápido y muy voraz con dientes de sierra (in Spanish)" El País, July 14, 2006 In New Jersey, the large beachfeeder schools are very common and lifeguards report never having seen bluefish bite bathers in their entire careers.
The IGFA All Tackle World Record for bluefish stands at landed by James Hussey near Hatteras, North Carolina. The unofficial record belongs to Captain Benjamin Dellacono who landed a 35 lb 6oz Blue Fish off the coast of Stonington, Connecticut.
Because of its fattiness, bluefish goes rancid rapidly, so it is generally not found far from its fisheries, but where it is available, it is often inexpensive. It must be refrigerated and consumed soon after purchase; some recipes call for keeping it in vinegar and wine before cooking, in vina d'alhos or en escabeche. By the same token, it is high in omega-3 fatty acids, but also in mercury and PCBs, containing the high level of about 0.4 ppm of mercury on average, comparable to albacore tuna or Spanish mackerel. For that reason, the U.S. FDA recommends that young children and women of childbearing age consume no more than one serving per week (a serving size is about 4 ounces uncooked for an adult, 2 ounces for children ages 4–7 years, 3 ounces for children ages 8–10 years, and 4 ounces for children 11 years and older).
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