RARE FISHES (Notes)

I received a FAX from J.C. Quero at IFREMER in Brest last Friday. He received an amberjack last Thursday that was caught off Brest, Brittany and he has identified it as a Guinean amberjack. He has also heard of another capture off Brest in the same week but has not seen the fish or received a photograph of it so the second Brittany record is uncorroborated.

A Guernsey fisherman also caught another Amberjack, again uncorroborated. Len Le Page, angling correspondent for The Guernsey Press and organiser of fishing club competitions, called on Saturday night to tell me that Bas Gaudion (tel: 01481 255603) caught a fish on September 11, 2000 that looked just like George Staples' amberjack. He caught it trolling for mackerel using a mackerel tail strip as bait north-east of Roque au Nord to the North-East of L'Ancresse Bay, Guernsey. He brought the fish home to his wife to cook it for dinner but 'she didn't like the look of it' so he took it back to the beach and used it as bait.  He looked in a fish book to try and identify the fish but wasn't able to find the fish and didn't think anymore about it until he saw Len Le Page's article about George Staples' Amberjack in the Guernsey Press on 13/9/00. He said his fish looked exactly like the photograph of the amberjack in the newspaper. Bas Gaudion used to be a professional fisherman. He has fished for 60 years.
 

7 October 2007
 

Guinean Amberjack, Seriola carpenteri
Photograph  ©  by Richard Lord

Richard Lord
Email: fishinfo@guernsey.net
http://www.sealordphotography.net

Caribbean fish found off Cornwall

The Almaco Jack, Seriola rivoliana is used to basking in warmer waters
A fish that normally lives in the Caribbean has been caught by a fisherman in Cornish waters.
The Almaco Jack was caught just off Crantock in north Cornwall by Newquay fisherman Phil Trebilcock.

Marine experts believe the catch, believed to be only the fifth Almaco Jack in British waters, is another sign of global warming.

The fish had a total length of 375 mm.
Fork length 325 mm
Second dorsal fin lobe height 56 mm
Pectoral fin length 50 mm measured on the outside of the fin and 45 mm measured along the inside of the fin (armpit measurement.)

D1, VII
D2 I,31
A II, I,21
 

I have misplaced my callipers so the accuracy of my dorsal lobe and pectoral fin length measurements is questionable.  I used the tape in the photo for measuring these short lengths.

What made me think this is an Almaco Jack, Seriola rivoliana, is the gill raker count on the first gill arch.  Lower lobe – 17 and upper lobe 8 not including rudiments giving a count of 25 which matches only Seriola rivoliana and Seriola fasciata in British waters.

Mark Harding from Alderney Angling has received a photo from a UK angler of another Seriola Jack.  He is sending me the photo.  I will find out the location and date of capture.
 

Richard Lord
Email: fishinfo@guernsey.net
http://www.sealordphotography.net
 

Recreational charter boat captain Chris Tett ( )

sent a photo of a Seriola jack to Mark Harding of Alderney Angling who forwarded the photo on to me.

 I spoke with Chris Tett this morning.  The Seriola in the attached photo was captured on 20 August 2007 at the entrance to Chichester harbour.  (Chris may be able to provide an exact location.)  Chris thinks a rag worm was used for bait.  Chris said this fish was captured by a neighbouring boat.  A photograph was taken and the fish was returned to the sea.  The angler wanted to know the name of the fish, which is why the photo was taken.  Chris has the name of the angler.

Does this Chichester harbour fish represent the furthest eastern record of a Seriola jack in the English Channel.  (Can you confirm this Doug?)

For permission to use the attached image on a web site please contact Chris Tett by visiting his web site.

Richard Lord
Email: fishinfo@guernsey.net

http://www.sealordphotography.net

PS:

Dr. William Smith-Vaniz confirmed by email that the fish caught in Chichester harbour in his words is “Definitely Seriola rivoliana.”
 

Hi Richard:

Based on available data, I would tentatively identify this fish as Seriola rivoliana.  However, at this size S. carpenteri and S. rivoliana are very difficult to distinguish.  In larger fish, ca. 40-50 cm FL, the relative height of the dorsal fin lobe and the shape of the maxilla/supramaxilla can be confidently used to identify these two species.  But because both characters are subject to allometric growth changes and not enough data are available of smaller size S. carpenteri, I am hesitant to base positive identification solely on them or on the number of gill rakers.  To be absolutely confident of the identification it would be necessary to examine the profile of the first anal-fin pterygiophore either by dissection or from a radiograph.  In S. rivoliana this pterygiophore is always virtually straight but in S. carpenteri it is moderately curved in lateral view.

I would be interested to know if this character was checked in any of the supposed records of S. carpenteri from Great Britain.

In the future, please use my new and preferred gmail address for future contact: smithvaniz@gmail.com

Sincerely,
 

<><   <><   <><   <><   <><   <><
William F. Smith-Vaniz, Ph.D.
U. S. Geological Survey
Florida Integrated Science Center
7920 NW 71st Street
Gainesville, Florida 32653-3701
Tel: (352) 264-3544
FAX: (352) 378-4956
e-mail: bill_smith-vaniz@usgs.gov
______________________________
Only the present can preserve the past for the future.

George Staples, a recreational fisherman fishing for black bream, landed a Greater  Amberjack, Seriola dumerili, (see below) on September 7, 2000 at 1500 to the East of Herm Island at a fishing mark called Noir Pute about 1.5 miles from Belvoir bay. He was fishing in 25 to 45 metres of water depth. (The water depth is very variable at the mark.) The amberjack took a sand eel bait.

The fish came into my possession this morning after a call from a local wholesaler last night. As it was caught on rod & reel I have informed the angling committee as it is possibly an angling record. (I am not interested in angling but as the fish is probably a Guernsey record he will get a free tankard and probably some other prizes!!!)

Last night the fish weighed 0.65 Kilograms on the wholesaler's scale.
The angling committee weighed the fish on their scale this morning and recorded a weight of 1 lb. 6 oz. 10 drams
My digital scale accurate to 1 gram weighed the fish at 645 grams.

For identification purposes I made some measurements:

Fork length 33.0 cm
2nd. Dorsal fin lobe height 5.375 cm
Anal fin base length 9.2 cm
Dorsal fin base length 14.5 cm
Gill rakers, first gill arch, left side 19 (not including rudiments)

I will photograph the fish this afternoon and make more detailed measurements.

Records of Greater Amberjack (Fishbase Entry) from your area would be of great interest.

Best Wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Richard
Richard Lord
Guernsey GY1 1BQ
Great Britain

Email:  fishinfo@guernsey.net
Tel: +44 (0)1481 700688
Fax: +44 (0)1481 700699

Dear Andy and Doug:

The amberjack caught by George Staples on September 7 is now almost certainly a Guinean Amberjack, Seriola carpenteri.  This species was only described in 1971.  The differences between the greater amberjack and the Guinean amberjack are minor. They differ in gill raker count and ratio of second dorsal fin lobe height to fork length ratio.  They may also reach different maximum sizes.  I don't know how valid the Guinean amberjack as a species is.

I received a FAX from J.C. Quero at IFREMER in Brest last Friday. He received an amberjack last Thursday that was caught off Brest, Brittany and he has identified it as a Guinean amberjack. He has also heard of another capture off Brest in the same week but has not seen the fish or received a photograph of it so the second Brittany record is uncorroborated.

A Guernsey fisherman also caught another Amberjack, again uncorroborated. Len Le Page, angling correspondent for The Guernsey Press and organiser of fishing club competitions, called on Saturday night to tell me that Bas Gaudion (tel: 01481 255603) caught a fish on September 11, 2000 that looked just like George Staples' amberjack. He caught it trolling for mackerel using a mackerel tail strip as bait north-east of Roque au Nord to the North-East of L'Ancresse Bay, Guernsey. He brought the fish home to his wife to cook it for dinner but 'she didn't like the look of it' so he took it back to the beach and used it as bait.  He looked in a fish book to try and identify the fish but wasn't able to find the fish and didn't think anymore about it until he saw Len Le Page's article about George Staples' Amberjack in the Guernsey Press on 13/9/00. He said his fish looked exactly like the photograph of the amberjack in the newspaper. Bas Gaudion used to be a professional fisherman. He has fished for 60 years.

Best Wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Richard
Richard Lord
Guernsey GY1 1BQ
Great Britain

Email:  fishinfo@guernsey.net
Tel: +44 (0)1481 700688
Fax: +44 (0)1481 700699

The Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic of the Mediterranean Vol. 11. keys the fish out to  Guinean amberjack, Seriola carpenteri.  The fish has been posted to Alwyne Wheeler for confirmation of the identification.  Meanwhile I would like a little help to confirm my identification.  Hopefully I have provided sufficient information below for someone to help me. If not please let me know what other information would be useful. I was not able to cut open the fish because it may become a British angling record!!!! but I did make a page full of measurements and notes that I have not included below.

Total weight 645 grams on Sept. 8 at 1130
TL  383 mm
FL  333 mm
Head length 79.9mm

D VII, I, 31
A II, 1, 19
P1  14
D2 base length 144 mm
D2 lobe height 53.5 mm
A2 base length 93 mm
Gill rakers first gill arch, lower limb 17(+1 rudiment) and upper limb 6 = 23

My reasoning for thinking the fish is Seriola carpenteri:
Using keys for carangidae from UNESCOs Fishes of the NE Atlantic & Med. Vol 11, pages 815 - 844:

Fish has no scutes -> teeth in both jaws minute and closely set in a dense band; chest completely scaled -> caudal peduncle grooves present, dorsally and ventrally, soft anal fin base only about 45 - 70 % of soft dorsal fin base (93/144 = 64%) -> no finlets in dorsal & anal fins, upper jaw ending below anterior margin of eye -> first dorsal fin spines 7, soft rays of anal fin 18 -22 ( actually 19) -> length of second dorsal fin lobe relatively short, about equal to P1 (53.5 vs 50.0 mm) (11-18% FL) (actually 16% FL) -> End of upper jaw relatively broad, length of D2 fin lobe about equal or slightly longer than P1 (P1 50.7 mm vs D2 fin lobe 53.5 mm), (D2 fin lobe height 13 - 18% of FL) (actually 16%) -> total gill rakers (excluding rudiments) 19-23 (actually 23); in adults, length of D2 fin lobe 15-18% FL (16%); 7 or 8 (frequently 8) spines in spinous dorsal fin (actually 7) -> Guinean amberjack - Seriola carpenteri.

When measuring second dorsal fin lobe height does one measure the perpendicular height of the fin from the body or the length of the anterior margin of the fin?  I understand that the greater amberjack, Seriola dumerili, loses gillrakers with age.  Can a greater amberjack ever have 23 gill rakers on the first gill arch?  I cut some gill filaments off the first gill arch and preserved them in ethanol for possible DNA analysis and I have also taken photographs of the fish, which I would be happy to email to those who can help me with the identification. The UNESCO volume (page 837) mentions a record for Seriola carpenteri off the West Coast of France (45.30 North 2.05 West) by Quero, 1986). Have there been more recent records of Seriola carpenteri in NE Atlantic waters?

Yours sincerely,
Richard
Richard Lord
Guernsey GY1 1BQ
Great Britain

Email:  fishinfo@guernsey.net
Tel: +44 (0)1481 700688
Fax: +44 (0)1481 700699