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.
