Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish - Macaw Pets store

Milkfish
Chanos chanos
OTHER NAMES
salmon herring; Afrikaans:
melkvis; Fijian: yawa;
French: chano, thon;
Hawaiian: awa; Japanese:
sabahii; Philippine
languages: bangos, banglis,
bangolis, bangris, banglot;
Tahitian: tamano; Thai:
pla nuanchan; Vietnamese:
cá máng.
Distribution. In the eastern
Pacific, milkfish occur
from San Pedro, California,
to the Galápagos Islands.
Habitat. Adults travel in
schools along continental
shelves and around islands
where there are welldeveloped
reefs and where
temperatures exceed 68°F.
Milkfish flourish in water as
hot as 90°F.
134 Milkfish
The milkfish is very important in the Indo-Pacific, where it is
used widely for food, but is mostly ignored in North America.
However, its tarponlike appearance has caused anglers
to misidentify it and spend much time futilely trying to
catch it on artificial lures and flies.
Identification. Looking somewhat like a large mullet or a
tarpon, the milkfish has a streamlined and compressed
body, large eyes, and a silvery metallic coloring. It also has
a small, toothless mouth; a single spineless dorsal fin; and a
large forked tail fin.
Size/Age. The milkfish can reach 5 feet in length and a
weight of 50 pounds and can live for 15 years. The alltackle
world record is a 24-pound, 8-ounce Hawaiian fish.
Life history/Behavior. Milkfish spawn in shallow, brackish
water, and a single fish may produce 9 million eggs.
These float on the surface until they hatch, and the new larvae
enter inshore waters 2 to 3 weeks after hatching. Older
larvae settle in coastal wetlands during the juvenile stage,
occasionally entering freshwater lakes, and older juveniles
and young adults return to the sea to mature sexually.
Food and feeding habits. Milkfish larvae feed on zooplankton,
whereas juveniles and adults eat bacteria, soft
algae, small benthic invertebrates, and sometimes pelagic
fish eggs and larvae.