Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda) is a saltwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 80–200 m.
Scientific name: Sarda sarda · Water: Saltwater, Brackish
Size: up to 91.4 cm
The Atlantic bonito is an epipelagic, neritic and schooling scombrid that may enter estuaries. It is known to be cannibalistic, and adults prey on small schooling fishes and on invertebrates such as squid and shrimps, and it can swallow relatively large prey; its eggs and larvae are pelagic. It tolerates temperatures from 12 to 27 degrees Celsius and salinities from 14 to 39. It is recorded from 80 to 200 m, and it also enters brackish water. Its range is the eastern Atlantic, from Oslo in Norway to Port Elizabeth in South Africa, including the Mediterranean and Black Sea, and the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Florida and the northern Gulf of Mexico. Maximum length is about 91.4 cm fork length, commonly about 50 cm fork length, and it can live five years, maturing at about 37.8 cm. It is a highly commercial species and a gamefish, utilized fresh, dried or salted, smoked, canned and frozen, with a high price category. Fishing vulnerability is low to moderate at 33 of 100 and resilience medium, and climate vulnerability is moderate to high at 48 of 100. IUCN lists it as least concern.
Caution: large individuals carry a ciguatera risk. Heat, cold and marinating do not remove the toxin, which concentrates in the liver, roe and head, so avoid eating those parts. Seek medical help if numbness, tingling or a reversed sense of hot and cold follows a meal.
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