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

Runner, Blue
Caranx crysos
OTHER NAMES
hardtail, hard-tailed jack,
runner; French: carangue
coubali; Greek: kokali;
Italian: carangidi, carangido
mediterraneo; Portuguese:
carangídeos, xaralete;
Spanish: atún, cojinua,
cojinúa negra, cojinuda.
Distribution. In the western
Atlantic, blue runners
occur from Nova Scotia to
Brazil, including the
Caribbean and the Gulf of
Mexico.
Habitat. Blue runners
inhabit offshore waters in
large schools. They are
occasionally found over
reefs, sometimes in pairs or
solitary. Young fish frequently
linger around sargassum
and other floating
objects.
160 Runner, Blue
The blue runner is a small, spunky member of the Carangidae
family that is valued as bait for big-game fishing. It is an
excellent food fish and is marketed fresh, frozen, and salted.
Identification. The body of the blue runner is bluish-green
to brassy, silvery, or light olive above. There is a black, somewhat
elongated spot near the upper end of the gill cover,
and there may be faint bluish bars on the body. A characteristic
feature is the blackish shading on the tips of the tail
fins. The blue runner is easily distinguished from the crevalle
jack because it lacks the dark blotch found on the pectoral
fins of that fish.
Size. This species usually weighs less than 1 pound and is
typically 1 foot long; the all-tackle world record is an 11pound,
2-ounce fish taken off Alabama.
Life history. Sexually mature when they reach 9 to 10
inches in length, blue runners spawn offshore from January
through August.
Food. Blue runners feed primarily on fish, shrimp, squid,
and other invertebrates.