Bluefish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the bluefish lives – recorded in 13 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Pomatomus saltatrix
Group	Bony fish
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	13 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Scombriformes
Family	Pomatomidae

Where does the bluefish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the bluefish in 13 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the bluefish endangered?

The bluefish’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the bluefish?

The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is a ray-finned fish in the order Scombriformes and the family Pomatomidae, genus Pomatomus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the bluefish

The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as tailor in Australia and New Zealand, elf and shad in South Africa. It is a popular gamefish and food fish.

The bluefish is a moderately proportioned fish, with a broad, forked tail. The spiny first dorsal fin is normally folded back in a groove, as are its pectoral fins. Coloration is a grayish blue-green dorsally, fading to white on the lower sides and belly. Its single row of teeth in each jaw is uniform in size, knife-edged, and sharp. Bluefish commonly range in size from "snappers" of 7 in (18 cm) to much larger, sometimes weighing as much as 30 lb (14 kg), though fish heavier than 20 lb (9 kg) are exceptional.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Bluefish (revision 1381450603), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q461432 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).