www.caribbeanspecialtyfoods.com fish information

Mahi-mahi is a Hawaiian word that means "strong-strong" for dolphin fish. This
species is found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. Generally,
smaller dolphin fish range from 2-5 pounds, while 40-50 pound fish are not
uncommon. Dolphin fish have a short life span of three or four years.

Dolphin fish are not to be confused with porpoises, which at times are also called
dolphin. Dolphin fish (mahi-mahi) are cold-blooded members of the fish family, while
porpoises are mammals and are protected by law. The mahi-mahi is a beautiful fish
also known as "dorado". The fish has green and gold flanks that light up with a
rainbow of iridescent colors that fade with time. Many retailers will display whole
mahi-mahi because they are so striking and to help dispel the myth that they are
related to Flipper.

According to Seafood Leader's 1992 Buyers' Guide (March/April issue), mahi-mahi
occupy a place at the top of the food chain. They like to consume everything from
flying fish to crabs, shrimp, squid, mackerel, and other small fish. At first, most
mahi-mahi were a by-catch (incidental catch) in the tuna/swordfish longline fishery.
Now they are sough after by commercial fishermen off the Pacific Coast of Latin
America, from Peru to Costa Rica; the Ecuadorians have a growing fishery.
Recreational anglers also catch mahi-mahi offshore in the Atlantic Ocean from New
Jersey to North Carolina and farther south to the caribbean islands.

This information was provided by: Delaware Sea Grant, University of Delaware
University of Delaware is the copyright holder.

Yellow-fin Tuna (Thunnus albacares ) reach a
maximum size of 450 pounds. Yellowfin have
football shaped bodies, dark blue or black above
with yellow on the sides and fins tinged in yellow
with the finlets yellow. Yellowfin occur in both the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Yellowfin Tuna are schooling fish and are the
most important commercially of all the tunas.
Tuna are pelagics that live in the open oceans of
this world.
Because they are always moving, tuna have
enormous appetites. Their favorite meals consist
of schools of small fish like herring or shrimp and
squid.

Tuna's special hunting technique is to encircle a
large school of smaller fish and then drive them
up to the water's surface. Once the small fish are
near the surface, the tuna close in and eat them.

Tuna are hunted by sharks, killer whales and
humans. Each year, fishermen around the world
catch hundreds of thousands of tons of tuna.
Eventually these tuna make their way into cans of
tuna or foods like sushi.

The blue shark is one of the most easily recognized sharks. It has a distinct
colouration, a deep indigo blue from above and a vibrant blue on its sides, changing
to white underneath. The large pectoral fins are also easy to spot as they are as long
as the distance between the tip of the snout to the last gill slit. The blue shark is a
long slender shark, reaching 3.8 meters (13 feet) in length. It is likely the most prolific
of the large shark species as it is abundant throughout its range. The blue shark has
a weak keel on the caudal peduncle and the upper lobe of the caudal fin is larger
than the lower. The teeth on both the lower and upper jaw have triangular cusps with
smooth or finely serrated edges.

Diet

The diet of this shark includes many types of fish and squid, and may sometimes eat
seals. Although flatfishes make up part of the diet, blue sharks predominantly eat
pelagic fishes such as herring, silver hake, white hake, red hake, cod, haddock,
pollock, mackerel, butterfish , sea raven, tuna and swordfish. Fish caught on longlines
during fishing are often attacked and consumed by blue sharks, who in turn often
become ensnared in the fishing gear.

Reproduction

The blue shark is a viviparous species, nourishing the young in the uterus and giving
birth to live pups. The new-born pups measure 40 to 51 cm (16 to 20 inches) in
length and litters usually consist of between 25 to 50 individuals. Litters of up to 135
pups have been reported. Females reach sexual maturity at a size of 2.2 to 3.2
meters (7 to 11 feet), while for males it is achieved at lengths of 1.8 to 2.8 meters (6
to 9 feet). After copulation the females may retain and nourish the spermatozoa in the
oviducal gland for months or even years while she awaits ovulation. Once the eggs
have been fertilized there is a gestation period of between 9 and 12 months.

Habitat

In temperate waters the blue shark is a wide ranging pelagic species occurring near
the surface. In tropical waters the blue shark is more commonly found in deeper
waters as it prefers temperatures between 7 and 16 degrees Celsius.

Range

The blue shark occurs in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans in both inshore and
offshore waters. This wide ranging species is found from 50º N latitude to 50ºS
latitude. In the western Atlantic it can be found from Newfoundland and the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to Argentina. In Canadian waters the blue shark has been found in
southeastern Newfoundland, the Grand Banks, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Scotian
Shelf and the Bay of Fundy.

Information:

Other Known names for this shark is Blacktip whaler.

A medium-sized, long-snouted whaler shark with a bronzy to greyish dorsal coloration,
the first dorsal-fin origin more or less over the pectoral-fin insertions, no interdorsal
ridge, black tips, and slender, erect, serrated upper teeth.

Body fusiform: interdorsal ridge absent. Snout moderately long, internarial space
1.1-1.6 in preoral length; labial furrows small and inconspicuous. Upper teeth erect to
slightly oblique, slender and finely serrated (somewhat coarse basally). Lower teeth
erect, more slender, finely serrated or smoothed-edge. First dorsal-fin origin usually
over or just behind pectoral-fin insertions, exceptionally just in front of pectoral-fin free
tips. Tooth count 32-35/29-31. Total vertebrae 174-182; precaudal 84-91

Dorsal surface bronze, fading to grey after death and in preservative. Ventral surface
pale. A pale stripe extends along each flank from the pelvic fin to below the first dorsal
fin. All fins (except sometimes the pelvic and anal fins) black-tipped.

Black-tip sharks are born at 60 cm and attains 200 cm. Males and females mature at
about 110 cm and about 115 cm respectively.

This information was provided by: Sea Ex.com