Shaffer, Rosalie Vaught and Nakamura, Eugene L. (1989) Synopsis of biological data on the cobia Rachycentron canadum (Pisces: Rachycentridae). NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, (NOAA Technical Report NMFS, 82)
![[img]](http://aquaticcommons.org/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png)
| PDF - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader Download (13Mb) | Preview |
Abstract
Information on the biology and fisheries of cobia, Rachycentron canadum, is compiled and reviewed in the FAD species synopsis style. Topics include taxonomy, morphology, distribution, reproduction, pre-adult and adult stages, food, growth, migration, population characteristics, and various aspects of exploitation. Data and information were obtained from unpublished as well as published sources. Cobia, the only species in the family Rachycentridae, is a migratory pelagic fish that occurs in tropical and subtropical seas of the world, except in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. In the western Atlantic Ocean, spawning occurs during the warm months. Eggs and larvae are planktonic. Females grow faster than males: at 1 year, females are 36 cm FL and 0.4 kg; at 4 years, 99 cm and 11 kg; and at 8 years, 137 cm and 31 kg. Comparable data for males are: at 1 year, 31 cm and 0.3 kg; 4 years, 82 cm and 6 kg; and 8 years, 108 cm and 15 kg. Sexual maturity is attained by males at about 52 cm FL in their second year and by females at about 70 cm in their third year. Fecundity for females 100-125 cm FL varies from 1.9 to 5.4 million eggs. Cobia favor crustaceans for food, but will feed on other invertebrates and fishes as well. They attain a maximum size of over 60 kg. Cobia are fished both commercially and recreationally. Commercially, they are usually caught incidentally in both hook-and-Iine and net fISheries. In the United States, which ranks behind Pakistan, Mexico, and the Philippines in commercial production of cobia, recreational landings exceed commercial landings by more than ten-fold. (PDF file contains 32 pages.)
| Item Type: | Monograph or Serial issue | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Synopsis of biological data on the cobia Rachycentron canadum (Pisces: Rachycentridae) | ||||||
| Personal Creator/Author: |
| ||||||
| Series Name: | NOAA Technical Report NMFS | ||||||
| Number: | 82 | ||||||
| Date: | 1989 | ||||||
| Publisher: | NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service | ||||||
| Issuing Agency: | United States National Marine Fisheries Service | ||||||
| Subjects: | Ecology Management Fisheries Biology | ||||||
| Item ID: | 2739 | ||||||
| Depositing User: | Patti M. Marraro | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 03 Nov 2009 23:35 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 29 Sep 2011 20:23 | ||||||
| URI: | http://aquaticcommons.org/id/eprint/2739 |
Actions (login required)
| View Item |
