Bigeye Trevally

The bigeye trevally is one of the larger members of Caranx, growing to a maximum recorded size of 120 cm in length and 18.0 kg in weight. It is similar to most other jacks in having a compressed, oblong body, with the dorsal profile slightly more convex than the ventral profile, particularly anteriorly. The snout is slightly pointed, and is greater in length than the eye diameter. The dorsal fin is in two distinct sections; the first consisting of 8 spine and the second of 1 spine and 19 to 22 soft rays. The anal fin consists of 2 anteriorly detached spines followed by 1 spine and 14 to 17 soft rays. The pelvic fins consists of 1 spine and 17 to 18 soft rays, while the caudal fin is strongly forked and the pectoral fin falcate.

The bigeye trevally is widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the Indian Ocean, it ranges from South Africa and Madagascar in the west, along the east African coastline up to both the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Its range extends east along India, South East Asia, Indonesia and many offshore Indian Ocean islands. The range extends north to Japan and south to Australia in this central Indo-pacific region. In the Pacific Ocean, the bigeye trevally inhabits most of the tropical island groups including Hawaii,

with its range extending east to the western American coastline. In this eastern region of its distribution it has been recorded from the American state of California in the north, including the Gulf of California, and south to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.

The bigeye trevally is a fast-swimming predatory species that has had several studies determine its diet in various places throughout its distribution. As mentioned above, the species is mostly inactive during the day, and feeds at dusk and through the night. The large stationary aggregations break off as the fish move off to hunt in small groups or individually. The species predominantly takes small fish as prey, however supplements its diet with a varied array of invertebrates. These include crustaceans such as shrimps, decapods, copepods and stomatopods, cephalopods, gastropods, jellyfish, sponges and even species of open ocean sea-skater insects. Bigeye trevally were found to be the primary fish predators of these sea-skates, and took far more of these than any other species of carangid.

The bigeye trevally reaches sexual maturity at a length of around 42 cm, with both males and females reaching maturity at a similar length and age. Spawning is known to occur between July and September in the east Pacific and in November to March in South Africa, indicating variation across the species range. There is also evidence that spawning may occur during new moon periods. Fish aggregate in large schools prior to spawning, with pairs breaking off the main aggregation to commence spawning. The pair increase their swimming speed to leave the school, with the fish underneath instantly changing colour to a dark black, with this individual also known to chase off any other individuals that approach the pair.

The bigeye trevally is of varying importance to both commercial and recreational fisheries throughout its range, with the large school sizes allowing for large catches in some regions. In many regions the species is lumped with other jacks in fishery statistics, and therefore worldwide catch is nearly impossible to estimate. Known recent annual catches include those of Saudi Arabia (615–638 t), Mexico (900 t), and Hawaii (297 lb). The species is especially important in fisheries based around coral reefs, with one such fishery in Papua New Guinea showing bigeye trevally are the most frequently taken carangid, and one of the top five most important species overall. It is also of high importance in small artisanal and subsistence fisheries, for which statistics are not kept.