BLUEFISH. The bluefish or "skipjack' (Pomatomus saltatrix) is one of the most widely distributed and abundant of sea-fishes, being found in the Atlantic from the Mediter ranean and Nova Scotia to Brazil, and in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is taken casu ally at all seasons on the eastern coast of the United States, but becomes numerous irregu larly in summer, when its presence or absence seems to be governed largely by the movements of its principal food, the menhaden (q.v.), when seeking their inshore spawning-grounds. The only wonder is that both have not been exterminated many centuries ago, for of all the butchers of the sea the bluefish is the most wolfish and diabolical, snapping its prey in half for a mouthful and passing on in ruthless in dustry. Little is known as to their method of reproduction. They do not spawn in inshore waters of the United States and their real spawning grounds are unknown. It is beauti fully shaped for swimming, built with the fine lines of the mackerel and the strength of the salmon. It is a near relative of the pompanos and horse-mackerels (family Carangida'), but is set apart in a family (Potnatomidce) by itself, which Jordan considers an offshoot toward the pencoids. In color it is steel-blue, and its flesh is very sweet and savory. The weight varies, five pounds being the common run, although 20 pounds are recorded.
The favorite method of fishing for it is asquidding,* or casting from a platform built out into the surf, with a rod and line armed with a spoon, or a bone-baited hook. Its vo racity makes it a free biter, and its tempera ment makes it a fierce one, so that the angler may expect a fight from the strike to the death, and only by sheer strength can the prey be landed. The bluefish is also trolled for from
boats, especially in Florida, and off the south coast of New England.
On our Pacific coast the blue fish* (Cynoscion parvipinnis) is found from Santa Barbara to Guaymas and Mazatlan, and is a near relative of the eastern weakfish (q.v.), locally called atotuava° (Cynoscion macdonal di). In the Gulf of California it congregates at the mouth of the Colorado River and attains enormous size, having been taken in hand lines as high as 170 pounds. Like other species of this genus, it is erroneously yet frequently called °sea-bass.° The bluefish thrives on sar dines and other small fish and destroys certain varieties of annelids and quantities of squid. The diminution of these and of other grega rious fishes constitutes an impartant factor in maintaining the balance of the various species. The bluefish sometimes ascend large rivers as far as the tide sets. It is one of the very best table fish, about $300,000 worth being handled annually in New York.
Consult Cunningham, History of Marketable Marine Fishes) (New York 1896) ; McFarland,