Cobia

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Cobia

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)—also known as black kingfish, black salmon, ling, lemonfish, crabeaters, aruan tasek, etc.—are perciform marine fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
, the sole representative of their family, the Rachycentridae.

Description
Attaining a maximum length of 2 metres (78 inches) and maximum weight of 68 kilograms (150 pounds), Cobia have elongate fusiform (spindle shaped) bodies and broad, flattened heads.

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Encyclopedia

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)—also known as black kingfish, black salmon, ling, lemonfish, crabeaters, aruan tasek, etc.—are perciform marine fish

Fish

Description

Attaining a maximum length of 2 metres (78 inches) and maximum weight of 68 kilograms (150 pounds), Cobia have elongate fusiform (spindle shaped) bodies and broad, flattened heads. Their eyes are small and their lower jaw projects slightly past the upper jaw. On the jaws, tongue and roof of the mouth are bands of villiform (fibrous) teeth. Their bodies are smooth with small scales, their dark brown coloration grading to white on the belly with two darker brown horizontal bands on the flanks. These may not be prominent except during spawning when Cobia lighten in colour and adopt a more prominently striped pattern. The large pelvic fins are normally carried horizontally (rather than vertically as shown for convenience in the illustration), so that, as seen in the water they may be mistaken for a small shark. When boated, the horizontal pelvic fins enable the Cobia to remain upright so that their vigorous thrashing can make them a hazard. The first dorsal fin is composed of six to nine independent, short, stout, and sharp spines. The family name Rachycentridae, from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
words rhachis meaning "spine" and kentron meaning "sting," is an allusion to these dorsal spines. Mature cobia have forked, slightly lunate tail fins with most fins being a dark brown. They lack air bladders.

Similar Species

Cobia somewhat resemble and are most closely related to the Remora

Remora

Remoras or suckerfish are elongate brown fish in order Perciformes and family Echeneidae. They grow up to 30?90 centimetres long , and their distinctive first dorsal fin takes the form of a modified oval sucker-like organ with slat-like structures that open and close to create suction and take a firm hold against the skin of large...
of the family Echeneidae. However, they lack the dorsal sucker of the Remora, their body is far stouter and their tail is far more developed, and forked instead of rounded. Juvenile Cobia are patterned with conspicuous bands of black and white. Their tails are rounded rather than forked as in the adults.

Distribution and Habitat

Cobia are pelagic

Pelagic zone

Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom is in the pelagic zone. The word pelagic comes from the Greek language p??a??? or p?lagos, which means open sea....
and are normally solitary except for annual spawning aggregations; however they will congregate at reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
s, wrecks, harbours, buoys and other structural oases. They may also enter estuaries

Estuary

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
and mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline water coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The word is used in at least three senses: most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove swamp and mangrove forest are also used, to refer to all trees and...
s in search of prey.

They are found in areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans where water temperatures average 24°C or greater. The largest taken on rod & reel was taken from Shark Bay

Shark Bay

Shark Bay may refer to the following locations in Western Australia:* Shire of Shark Bay* the locality of Shark Bay, now known as Denham, Western Australia...
, Australia weighing 60 kgs (135 lbs).

Feeding Habits

Cobia feed primarily on crab

Crab

Crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax....
s, squid

Squid

Squid are marine cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, Symmetry #Bilateral_symmetry, a mantle , and cephalopod arms....
, and other fish. Cobia will follow larger animals such as shark

Shark

Sharks are a type of fish with a full Cartilage skeleton and a highly Streamlines, streaklines and pathlinesd body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits....
s, turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines , most of whose body is shielded by a special bone or cartilage animal shell developed from their ribs....
s and manta ray

Manta ray

The manta ray , is the largest of the batoidea, with the largest known specimen having been more than 7.6 m across, with a weight of about 2,300 kg ....
s in hope of scavenging a meal. Cobia are intensely curious fish and show no fear of boats. Their predators are not well documented, but the dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) is known to feed on immature Cobia. Shortfin mako shark

Shortfin mako shark

The shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus , is a large shark of the Lamnidae family. Along with the closely related longfin mako, Isurus paucus, it is commonly called just mako shark....
s are known to feed on adult Cobia and have been seen by fishermen following Cobia during their annual springtime migration in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
.

Life History

Cobia are pelagic spawners; that is, they release many tiny (1.2 mm) buoyant eggs into the water which become part of the plankton

Plankton

Plankton consist of any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. Plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than their Phylogenetics or taxonomy classification....
. The eggs float freely with the currents until hatching. The larvae are also planktonic, being more or less helpless during their first week until the eyes and mouths develop. Males mature at two years and females at three years. Both sexes lead moderately long lives of 15 years or more. Spawning takes place diurnally from April to September in large offshore congregations. Up to 20 individual spawns may take place in one season, with intervals of about one to two weeks. Cobia are frequently parasitized by nematode

Nematode

The "roundworms" or "nematodes" are the most diverse phylum of body cavity, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 80,000 have been described, of which over 15,000 are parasite....
s, trematodes, cestodes, copepod

Copepod

Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every fresh water habitat . Many species are planktonic , but more are benthos , and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ephemeral ponds and puddle...
s and acanthocephalans.

Migration patterns

Cobia make seasonal migrations along the coasts in search of water in their preferred temperature range. Wintering in the Gulf of Mexico, they migrate north as far as Maryland in the Summer, passing East Central Florida in March.

Fishing Gear and Methods

Cobia are powerful fish popular among sport fishermen, and a prized table fare. Cobia are primarily sought by sight casting small Chartreuse jigs to migrating fish, or to fish following Turtles or Manta rays. They are a bycatch taken by commercial fishermen trolling for King Mackerel, or by live Menhaden slow-trolled near reefs and wrecks.

Utilization

Cobia are sold commercially, and command a high price for their firm texture and excellent flavor. However, there is no directed fishery owing to their solitary nature. They have been farmed in aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the farming of freshwater and saltwater organisms including molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Unlike fishing, aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, implies the cultivation of aquatic populations under controlled conditions....
for this reason. The meat is usually sold fresh. They are typically served in the form of grilled or poached fillets. Chefs Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver

James Trevor 'Jamie' Oliver, Order of the British Empire , frequently nicknamed The Naked Chef, is an England celebrity chef and media personality, well known for his role in campaigning against the use of processed foods in national schools....
and Mario Batali

Mario Batali

Mario Batali is an United Statesn chef, writer, Restaurant and media personality....
each cooked several dishes made with cobia in the "Battle Cobia" episode of the Food Network

Food Network

Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs specials and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns roughly two thirds of the network, and Tribune Company owns the rest....
program Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America

Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA....
, which aired in January 2008.