Blue Runner

ANIMAL:
Blue Runner Caranx crysos

Type of Animal:
Jack

Habitat:
Inshore/nearshore/offshore marine/brackish waters-artificial reefs, inshore areas close to surf zones/beaches, natural reefs, around oil/gas platforms, marine aquaculture cage structures, bouy-like fish aggregating devices (FADs), coastal waters, sargassum/seagrass/seaweed areas, seagrass among coral reef patches, sargassum estuaries, sargassum lagoons, inshore lagoons around mangroves, offshore areas w/ floating objects, jellyfish bells (often utilized by young), found as deep as 8,202.1 ft

Location(s):
W Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Brazil, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, E Atlantic from S British Isles to Angola, Mediterranean

Appearance:
Elongated moderately compressed body w/ equally convex dorsal/ventral areas, slightly pointed snout, bluish-green to olive-green in dorsal area, silvery-gray to brassy below, juveniles have dark vertical bands, fins range from dusky to hyaline to olive-green, black tail tip

Food/Diet:
Fish, shrimp, copepods, crabs, prawns, jellyfish, small lobsters, decapod larvae, mantis shrimp larvae, hyperiids, pteropods, zooplankton, food scraps, dolphin poop

Status in Wild:
Stable

Conservation:
Monitoring fish harvests

Lifestyle:
Schools range from 10-10,000 fish

Additional Info:

Called:
Male
Female
Young: Fry
Group: School
 
Weight:
1-10 lbs

Gestation:
1 day 

Life Span:
8-10 years

Body Length:
0.75-2 ft

Main predators are larger fish, dolphins, & fish-eating birds.
 
Also known as Bluestripe Jack, Egyptian Scad, Hardnose, Hardtail Jack, White Back Cavalli, Yellow Tail Cavalli, Mackerel, Yellow Mackerel, Runner, & Crevalle.
 
Spawning occurs in offshore areas.
 
They’re very fast swimmers.
 
Feed any time of day w/ larger prey taken more often at night.
 
Females release anything from 40,000-1,546,000 eggs per year, sometimes more.
 
Many populations have many more females than males.
 
Eggs/larvae are pelagic.

Fun Fact(s):
All-tackle world record was 11-pound, 2-oz fish taken off Alabama.
 
Flesh looks like albacore tuna but said to taste more like strong mackerel or herring.
 
Often seen in schools among Spinner Dolphins, taking advantage of scraps & eating dolphin poop. Sometimes, dolphins eat runners.
 
Highly popular game & food fish. Especially popular as gamefish, taking many kinds of baits/lures. These fish commonly sold as bait themselves as well as fishmeal/oil. Meat often sold fresh/dried/smoked. Though commonly sold, they’re often considered low-quality fish & larger fish often carry ciguatera toxin.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *