Bluefish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Percoidei
Superfamily:	Percoidea
Family:	Pomatomidae
Genus:	Pomatomus Lacépède, 1802
Species:	P. saltatrix
Binomial name
Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus, 1766)

Bluefish is also a common name for Anoplopoma fimbria (sablefish) in the UK.

The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), called tailor in Australia,^[1] is a species of popular marine gamefish found in all climates. It is the only extant species of the Pomatomidae family.

In South Africa, this fish is commonly known as shad on the east coast, and elf on the west coast. Shad can not be commercially sold in KwaZulu-Natal, and has a closed season (currently October and November) to allow for breeding. On the west coast, elf is a commercially fished species.

Other common names are blue, chopper, and anchoa.^[2]

The bluefish is a moderately proportioned fish, with a broad, forked tail. The spiny first dorsal fin is normally folded back in a groove, as are its pectoral fins. Coloration is a grayish blue-green dorsally, fading to white on the lower sides and belly. Its single row of teeth in each jaw are uniform in size, knife-edged and sharp. Bluefish commonly range in size from seven-inch (18-cm) "snappers" to much larger, sometimes weighing as much as 40 pounds (18 kg), though fish heavier than twenty pounds (9 kg) are exceptional.

North American Atlantic migration patterns[link]

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"Trolling for blue fish" lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1866

Bluefish are found off Florida in the winter months. By April, they have disappeared, heading north. By June, they may be found off Massachusetts; in years of high abundance, stragglers may be found as far north as Nova Scotia. By October, they leave New England waters, heading south. They are also present in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the year.

Life history[link]

Bluefish fry are zooplankton, and are largely at the mercy of currents. Spent bluefish have been found off east central Florida, migrating north. As with most marine fish, their spawning habits are not well known. In the western side of the North Atlantic, there are at least two populations, separated by Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. The Gulf Stream can carry fry spawned to the south of Cape Hatteras to the north, and eddies can spin off, carrying them into populations found off the coast of the mid-Atlantic, and the New England states. The bluefish population is highly cyclical, with abundance varying widely over a span of ten years or more.

Feeding habits[link]

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Depending on area and season, they favor menhaden and other sardine-like fish (Clupeidae), jacks (Scombridae), weakfish (Sciaenidae), grunts (Haemulidae), striped anchovies (Engraulidae), shrimp and squid. They should be handled with care due to their ability to snap at an unwary hand. In July 2006, a 7 year-old girl was attacked on a beach, near the Spanish town of Alicante, allegedly by a bluefish.^[3]

Bluefish are extremely aggressive, and will often chase bait through the surf zone, and literally onto dry beach. Thousands of big bluefish will attack schools of hapless baitfish in mere inches of water, churning the water like a washing machine. This behavior is referred to as a "bluefish blitz". Baitfish, such as bunker, will willingly run themselves high and dry on the sand, where they will suffocate, rather than be shredded by the marauding bluefish schools.

Bluefish are cannibalistic. Some hypothesize that because of cannibalistic behavior, bluefish tend to swim in schools of similarly sized specimens. Others hypothesize that bluefish school with like-sized individuals, because they swim at the same rate, thus expending the same energy when traveling, and thus having identical food intake requirements. Bluefish are preyed upon at all stages of their life cycle. As juveniles, they fall victim to a wide variety of oceanic predators, including striped bass, larger bluefish, fluke (summer flounder), weakfish, tuna, sharks, rays, and dolphins. As adults, bluefish are taken by tuna, sharks, billfish, seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, and many other species.

Gear and methods[link]

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Fly fishing
targets
bluefish
brook trout
crappie
hucho taimen
largemouth bass
northern pike
peacock bass
shoal bass
smallmouth bass
more fly fish...
other sport fish...
fishing
I N D E X

Bluefish are an important recreational and commercial fish.

A large bluefish, about 20 pounds

Baits[link]

Bluefish eagerly take a wide variety of fresh baits. Live or cut menhaden, mullet, mackerel, spearing, killifish, eels, squid, shrimp, ladyfish pieces, bunker or similar baitfish are all productive, especially when matched to whatever bluefish may be primarily feeding on at the time. Bluefish eagerly take artificial baits, as well. Either trolled or cast with a fast retrieve, shiny spoons and the full range of bright-colored plugs, jigs, plus fluorescent-colored tube lures are all effective. Noisy surface lures at dawn or dusk near a sharp dropoff or in shallow water are also productive, which many fisherman find adds to the excitement as a bluefish attacks their lure on the surface. Bluefish will occasionally "skyrocket"—leap out of the water before landing on and attacking a top water lure or live bait fished at the surface—a spectacular sight for most fishermen.

Little skill is needed to hook a bluefish when a school is in a feeding frenzy. They will ravenously strike any natural bait or shiny lure—even a shiny coin tossed into their midst. When in a feeding frenzy, bluefish will go after anything that poses a threat.

Tackle[link]

Bluefish are known to strike just about any type of lure. Topwater plugs, such as bottleneck and pencil poppers offer anglers the most exciting lure strikes, as the bluefish will smack the lures with spectacular ferocity. Metal lures, such as Hopkins, Kastmaster, AOK, AVA and Krocodile will catch bluefish in almost all situations.

Medium-light to medium weight spinning or bait-casting rigs are standard. Eight- to 12-pound-test line is common when targeting bluefish in the one to three pound range, while 20-pound-test line and matched tackle may be the choice when targeting larger specimens, such as pictured above.

Fishermen typically present natural baits on a size 3/0 or 4/0 hook, sometimes followed by a smaller "stinger" hook. These are attached to wire tippets about 6 inches long, which are attached either by swivel or Albright Special to 3 to 5 feet (1.5 m) of 50- to 80-pound-test monofilament leader. Larger hooks are appropriate for larger baits and bluefish. Some fishermen, instead, choose only a heavy monofilament leader attached to a long-shank hook, which usually avoids the bluefish's sharp teeth. Artificial lures are presented on similar leader arrangements. Steel leaders are a benefit, since the fish's razor-sharp teeth will cleanly snip through any normal fishing line.

Some adventuresome anglers target bluefish with flyrods tipped with large, brightly colored and tinsel-lined streamers or surface poppers. Due to their schooling and ravenous feeding habits, bluefish are among the easier ocean-faring targets for those trying their hand at heavy fly tackle.

Commercial fishing[link]

Commercial fishermen take bluefish in the one to four-pound range. Steel leaders are a must.

Management[link]

Bluefish is a highly sought-after sportfish that used to be overfished, but restrictions set forth by management organizations have helped the species population grow.

Other uses[link]

Bluefish are often caught and used as live bait for tuna, shark, or billfish.

Similar species[link]

Bluefish are the only members now included in the Pomatomidae family. At one time, gnomefishes were once included, but these are now in grouped in a separate family, Scombropidae.

References[link]

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Pomatomus saltatrix" in FishBase. March 2006 version.
• "Pomatomus saltatrix". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=168559. Retrieved 30 January 2006. 

1. ^ CAAB taxon report for Pomatomus saltatrix at the CSIRO
2. ^ "Bluefish Identification". http://www.landbigfish.com/fish/fish.cfm?ID=49. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
3. ^ "Un depredador rápido y muy voraz con dientes de sierra (in Spanish)" El País, July 14, 2006

External links[link]

• FishBase info for Pomatomidae
• Encyclopedia of Life
• Life history of the Bluefish
• Photo of a large bluefish

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Anita Kelsey
Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Trance, House, UK garage
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1997-present
Website	www.anitakelsey.com

Anita Kelsey (born in Mitcham, Surrey, United Kingdom) is a singer-songwriter whose vocals and top lines are featured on many hit dance records and feature films.^[1] Her voice has appeared as backup vocals for artists such as Kings Of Leon, The Good, The Bad and The Queen, Razorlight, Boy George and the Spice Girls, as the featured vocalist on big screen productions such as Dark City, and more recently as the singer and songwriter for a series of successful dance projects.^[2]

Career[link]

Kelsey appeared on the dance scene in 1997. She won the UK's MOBO Award for her first album on Dorado Records with the UK garage act Sunship. Her next single, "Try Me Out" from the second Sunship album, became a UK club hit and was an Agia Napa anthem of 2001. Anita also worked on two of Dorado label-mate Matt Cooper's Outside albums, penning the singles "If You Come With Me" & "Somewhere New".

In 1998, renowned film composer Trevor Jones asked Kelsey to perform on the soundtrack to major sci-fi cult blockbuster Dark City. This resulted in American actress Jennifer Connelly miming to Kelsey's voice in two prominent scenes as well as the Kelsey rendition of "Sway" being featured on the end credits. (The director's cut of Dark City uses Connelly's vocals both in the film and the version in the credits.) The tracks "Sway" & "The Night Has 1000 Eyes" were included on the film's soundtrack released on TVT Sountrax. Other major films featuring Anita’s voice include Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis and Merlin.

More success came in 2002 for Kelsey's work with D*Note's "Shed My Skin".^[3] During that same year she appears in the opening scenes of the horror movie Long Time Dead in which she participates in a ouija board séance just before dying a horrific death.

In 2004 Kelsey signed to BMG Music Publishing.

In 2005 Markus Schulz teamed up with Kelsey to release the single "First Time" on Armada Music in the Netherlands. This led to the track being included on Schulz' debut album Without You Near, on which she sang on a second track, "Travelling Light". Markus Schulz' second artist album, Progression (released 2007) featured a new collaboration with Kelsey, entitled "On a Wave".

In 2006, Kelsey was approached by dance producer TTLC, also known as TDR (Tom de Ridder), to collaborate on electro track "Never Ever". This track was released by Belgian label Mostiko and has culminated in DJs such as Judge Jules & Sasha championing the Filterheadz remix (live and on their weekly shows on BBC Radio 1), as well as the Housetrap mix receiving heavy air rotation on Belgian national radio. Kelsey also co-wrote Virgin Records's Lost Witness singles "Home" and "Coming Down", performed by Tiff Lacey.

"Falling", co-written with First State, has been included on Tiesto's In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza, and many others compilations.

A poignant collaboration, "Wicked World", with Dutch production duo Hardsoul resulted in the track being picked up by Fedde Le Grande to remix for his debut album, Sessions, released on Ministry Of Sound in 2007. A new release for 2010 shows her writing skills and vocal talents with legendary producer Stonebridge with whom she has released a single called "Rescue Me". Stonebridge also snapped up another typical quirky Kelsey top line for his 2010 album, the track being "I Love It".

After a break from music due to a personal tragedy (her best friend committed suicide), Kelsey is now writing and singing again for producers/artists in the dance world. She is currently published by MusicAllStars which is the publishing arm of Dutch dance label Spinning Records.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Albums[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

References[link]