Pacific Bonito

 

Family:

Scombridae (Mackerel and Tunas)

Genus and Species:

Sarda chiliensis

Description:

The body of the Pacific bonito is cigar-shaped and somewhat compressed. The head is pointed and conical, and the mouth is large. The color is dark blue above, dusky on the sides becoming silvery below. There is a number of slanted darkish stripes along the back. Pacific bonito are the only tuna-like fishes on the California coast that have the slanted dark stripes on their backs.

Range:

Pacific bonito occur discontinuously from Chile to the Gulf of Alaska, with the greatest area of abundance in the northern hemisphere occurring in warm waters between Magdalena Bay, Baja California, and Point Conception, California.

Natural History:

The preferred food of bonito appears to be small fishes, such as anchovies and sardines. Occasionally, they rely heavily upon squid in their daily diet. Bonito may not spawn successfully every year in California, but successful spawning does take place further south each year. The bulk of southern California spawning appears to take place from late January through May. The free floating eggs require about 3 days to hatch at average spring water temperatures. Young fish resulting from local successful spawnings are usually first observed by the various live bait haulers when they are 6 to 10 inches long in the early summer months. These fish will often weigh 3 pounds or more by the fall of the year and by May of the following year many will weigh 6 or 7 pounds.

Fishing Information:

Pacific bonito are excellent fighters and have hearty appetites. Once a school is aroused they will take almost any bait or lure that is tossed their way. Most Pacific bonito are taken by a combination of trolling and live bait fishing. The schools are located by trolling feathers, and live anchovies or squid pieces are used to bait the fish once located. Fishing for bonito generally takes place offshore in 300 to 600 feet of water, but may occur next to kelp beds when the fish are near shore. Pacific bonito may arrive off of California as the ocean warms in the spring, but may never show up if oceanic conditions dictate colder than normal water temperatures. Bonito anglers generally catch 1 to 4 year old fish, weighing between 3 and 12 pounds. Pacific bonito fishing tapers off in the fall as the water cools, but persistent anglers still find good bonito fishing around warm water outfalls associated with power plants.

Other Common Names:

bonehead, Laguna tuna, magneto, striped tuna, California bonito, ocean bonito.

Largest Recorded:

 40 inches; 25 pounds.

Habitat:

 Pelagic Environment