This summer, never was I lonely on the shallow dives. The minute I jumped in the water 3 beautiful Pompanos(Trachinotus ovatus, Litsa, Mavrolitsa or Gofari in Greek) appeared immediately and were our loyal followers throughout the dive. They swim very fast, in a most elegant fashion and their curiosity is high, coming very close to swimmers without fear.
Their tail is fork shaped as is typical of the carangids, with a black spot on the tip of the caudal, dorsal and anal fins. They also have 3 - 5 dark spots on the front end of their body. The biggest specimen recorded was measured at 70 cm, although most commonly at 35 cm. Its distribution has been recorded from the Eastern Atlantic, Bay of Biscay, British and Scandinavian waters (rare) to Angola, including the Mediterranean Sea and offshore islands.
They usually swim in small schools near the coast in shallow waters, over sandy or muddy bottoms, unlike their other relatives of the amazing family Carangidae, which are mostly pelagic. They mostly prefer to eat small crustaceans, mollusks and fishes.
For this reason they are easy to spot and photograph.
Pompanos have a high salinity tolerance and are in the process of being farmed in China although they have a low food conversion rate, with trials being made to grow them using soyabean and fishmeal.
Their tail is fork shaped as is typical of the carangids, with a black spot on the tip of the caudal, dorsal and anal fins. They also have 3 - 5 dark spots on the front end of their body. The biggest specimen recorded was measured at 70 cm, although most commonly at 35 cm. Its distribution has been recorded from the Eastern Atlantic, Bay of Biscay, British and Scandinavian waters (rare) to Angola, including the Mediterranean Sea and offshore islands.
They usually swim in small schools near the coast in shallow waters, over sandy or muddy bottoms, unlike their other relatives of the amazing family Carangidae, which are mostly pelagic. They mostly prefer to eat small crustaceans, mollusks and fishes.
For this reason they are easy to spot and photograph.
Pompanos have a high salinity tolerance and are in the process of being farmed in China although they have a low food conversion rate, with trials being made to grow them using soyabean and fishmeal.
