Tarpon fish is a welcome trophy for every lover of serious fishing. It is very valuable, and not every fisherman manages to get it. Let's try to learn more about this ocean dweller.
Genus tarpon
Tarpon are representatives of the monotypic fish family. Outwardly, they resemble herring, but they are significantly larger in size. There is no kinship, even a very distant one, between tarpon and herring.
In the genus, only 2 species are presented, into which tarpon fish is divided:
- Megalops atlanticus, which means atlantic tarpon.
- Megalops cyprinoides, which in Russian corresponds to the name "Indo-Pacific Tarpon".
The word megalops comes from the Greek language, its translation means "big eye".
Atlantic Tarpon: Description
Atlantic tarpon fish is considered very large. The maximum recorded length of an adult exceeded 250 cm. Moreover, its weight reached 160 kg. Tarpon live for about 50 years.
The body of the fish is elongated and compressed laterally. The ridge consists of 55-57 vertebrae. Covering scales are very large. Tarpon fish has a large head, the value of which can be more than 30% of the entire body length. The mouth is oblique, with the lower jaw strongly advanced forward. Despite its large size, it is equipped with small villous teeth, which are located on the jaws, and on the opener, and on top of the palate. The lower jaw is equipped with an elongated bone plate, necessary for grinding hard pieces.
In the middle of the back is the dorsal fin with a low base. The fin consists of soft rays, the maximum number of which is 15 pieces. The front of the rays is high, and the last of them is low and long. It may touch the tail stem. The anal fin of the tarpon is triangular in shape with a slightly elongated last ray.
The sides and belly of the fish have a rich silver color. Thanks to what researchers and fishermen call tarpon the Silver King of the Atlantic. The back and upper part of the head may be dark green or blue. But the color of the body can change, reacting to the habitat. It is known that the oldest tarpon lived more than 125 million years ago, but since then its appearance has not changed.
Tarpon fish has a unique swim bladder structure. It has a duct into the esophagus, which allows air to flow directly when swallowed. Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Tarpon are the only fish that can breathe atmospheric air through the swimming bladder.
Where is the Atlantic Tarpon
The main distribution point of the Atlantic tarpon is the coast of the Atlantic along the United States of America. A serious population lives off the coast of Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Atlantic tarpon are found off the coast of Africa. Single specimens fall to the coast of Portugal and the coastal waters of the Azores.
The habitat stretches from Argentina to Cape Cod and Nova Scotia. Occasionally, the Atlantic tarpon is found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Tarpon prefers surface layers. The average depth of its habitat is 15 m. This fish does not sink deeper than thirty meters. Very often you can watch games on the surface and jumping out of the water. Since this ocean inhabitant does not need depths, he sometimes enters bays, into coastal flooded river mouths with brackish water, and even into fresh water bodies.
Breeding
Puberty occurs at the age of about 7 years. By this time, the female is at least 110 cm in size. Spawning takes place throughout the year. Tarpones spawn most actively 5 days after the full moon. Fertility of females is highly dependent on their size. The minimum is 4.5 million eggs, and the maximum is 20 million eggs.
The incubation period of eggs does not exceed three days. Then transparent ribbon-like larvae appear, which are called leptocephalus. They get the standard appearance of adults by going through 3 stages of development.
Food
Larvae absorb nutrients through the outer cover. Gradually, they switch to feeding on zooplankton, and then to insects and invertebrates.
Adult tarpon feed on fish. In their diet, all types of mullet, various herring species, pair and catfish fish. Also on the menu are shrimp and crab.
Fishing features
The tarpon is not endowed with high palatability, but thousands of fishermen go on an “ocean hunt” every day, since it is a special honor to get tarpon. It was a great success for the fisherman to claim that the Atlantic tarpon fish was his trophy. Photos of such fishing are presented in the article.
The first difficulty in fishing is the large size of the prey. Pulling out such a giant is very difficult. The second difficulty is a sharp temper, the fish fights with the fisherman to the last, fights and tries to break loose from the tackle.
Since the tarpon is a living fossil and scientists are concerned about its conservation, most often fishermen engage in sports fishing, at the end they photograph their trophies and release them into the ocean. In America, unsportsmanlike fishing is permitted under a special license, but even in this way no more than two can be obtained.
In the ocean, fishing is from a boat, the fisherman is armed with a spinning, trolling or fly fishing gear. Sometimes tarpon fish is river or lake prey, as it enters freshwater bodies. It was in such conditions that a world record was recorded.
