Description: A small pelagic fish, slender, oval in cross-section. A single, short dorsal fin at midpoint of the body. Pectoral fins set low on the body. Caudal fin deeply forked. Body covered in large scales, smooth to touch. Lateral line absent. Dorsal part green or olive, flanks golden, shading to silvery white on the ventral side; with one or more series of dark spots along the upper flanks.
Global Distribution: Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean (less common in the eastern part) and Black Sea. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 27.5 cm (standard length); common length 20.0 cm (SL).
Age: Maximum reported age: 15 years.
Weight length rel.: Portugal, west coast (Mendes et al. 2004): a=0.0092, b=2.980, r2=0.761 (n=304).
Spain, south-west coast (Torres et al. 2012): a=0.0082, b=3.016, r2=0.87 (n=1656).
Growth type: Isometric (Mendes et al. 2004; Torres et al. 2012).
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: Spawns in batches, in the open sea or near the coast, producing 50,000-60,000 eggs with a mean diameter of 1.5 mm.
Maturity:
Behavioural ecology: Forms schools, usually at depths of 25 to 100 m by day, rising to 10 to 35 m at night.
Population structure & migrations: Undertakes periodic migrations.
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 10 - 100 m, usually 25 - 100 m.
Habitat: Littoral species.
Feeding habits: Feeds mainly on planktonic crustaceans, but also on larger organisms.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.1
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Valuable commercial species. Part of the "ruama" small pelagics fishery in Madeira.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Near threatened.
Nutritional information & food safety:
Proximate composition per 100 g:
energy value 187 kcal (9.4% DRV)
protein 17.9 g (35.8% DRV)
fat 10.9 g (15.6% DRV)
of which saturates 2.746 g (13.7% DRV)
sodium 0.065 g (2.7% DRV)
REFERENCES
Direcção Regional de Pescas, Madeira.
Fischer W., Bianchi G., Scott W.B., eds. (1981). FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Eastern Central Atlantic; fishing areas 34, 47 (in part). Canada Funds-in-Trust. Ottawa, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, by arrangement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, vol. 2, 324 pp.
González J., Hernández C., Marrero P., Rapp E. (2000). Peces de Canarias: GuÃa Submarina (5th edition). Francisco Lemus Editor, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canarias, Spain, 235 pp.
Hureau J.-C., ed. (1984-1985). Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO. Accessed through: Marine Species Identification Portal. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://species-identification.org (2014).
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
Mendes B., Fonseca P., Campos A. (2004). Weight–length relationships for 46 fish species of the Portuguese west coast. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 20(5): 355-361.
Nieto A., Ralph G.M., Comeros-Raynal M.T., Kemp J., GarcÃa Criado M., Allen D.J., Dulvy N.K., Walls R.H.L., Russell B., Pollard D., GarcÃa S., Craig M., Collette B.B., Pollom R., Biscoito M., Labbish Chao N., Abella A., Afonso P., Ãlvarez H., Carpenter K.E., Clò S., Cook R., Costa M.J., Delgado J., Dureuil M., Ellis J.R., Farrell E.D., Fernandes P., Florin A-B., Fordham S., Fowle, S., Gil de Sola L., Gil Herrera J., Goodpaster A., Harvey M., Heessen H., Herler J., Jung A., Karmovskaya E., Keskin C., Knudsen S.W., Kobyliansky S., KovaÄić M., Lawson J.M., Lorance P., McCully Phillips S., Munroe T., Nedreaas K., Nielsen J., Papaconstantinou C., Polidoro B., Pollock C.M., Rijnsdorp A.D., Sayer C., Scott J., Serena F., Smith-Vaniz W.F., Soldo A., Stump E., Williams J.T. (2015). Europen Red List of Marine Fishes. IUCN and European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 90 pp.
Nunes M.L., Bandarra N., Oliveira L., Batista I., Calhau M.A. (2006). Composition and nutritional value of fishery products consumed in Portugal. In: Seafood Research from Fish to Dish: Quality, safety and processing of wild and farmed fish, eds.: J.B. Luten, C. Jacobsen, K. Bekaert, A. Saebo, J. Oehlenschläger. Wageningen Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, 568 pp.
Torres M.A., Ramos F., Sobrino I. (2012). Length–weight relationships of 76 fish species from the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain). Fisheries Research, 127: 171-175.
