Scientific Name
Sarda sarda

Common Name
Atlantic bonito

Biology
Epipelagic, neritic and schooling species that may enter estuaries. Known to be cannibalistic, adults prey on small schooling fishes, invertebrates like squid and shrimps and can swallow relatively large prey. Eggs and larvae pelagic (Ref. 6769). Utilized fresh, dried or salted, smoked, canned and frozen (Ref. 9987). Able to adapt to different temperatures 12? to 27?C and salinities 14 to 39 (Ref. 36731).

Classification

Classified By

Bloch, 1793

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Mackerels, tunas, bonitos (Scombridae)

Distribution

Region

Eastern Atlantic

Distribution

Eastern Atlantic: Oslo, Norway to Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Also known from the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada to Florida, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico; then from Colombia, Venezuela, and south of the Amazon River to northern Argentina; apparently absent from most of the Caribbean Sea.

Range

65°N - 40°S, 98°W - 42°E

Environment

Climate

Subtropical

Water Temperature From

12 °C

Water Temperature To

27 °C

Depth From - meters

80 m

Depth To - meters

200 m

Zone

pelagic-neritic

Environment

Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 80 - 200 m (Ref. 5377)

Trophic Level

4.5 s.e. 0.74 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

True

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

91.4 cm

Common Length

50.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5625 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes

Vulnerability

Low to moderate vulnerability (33 of 100)

Resilience

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.13-0.24; tm=1; tmax=5)

Threat To Humans

Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30303)

IUCN Red List Status

Least Concern (LC)