Mojarra

Mojarras, in general, are schooling coastal fishes with extremely protrusible mouths, which they use to capture bottom-dwelling invertebrates. They are abundant in coastal waters, bays, and estuaries in tropical and warm-temperate regions. They are most common over grassy, sandy, or other open bottoms, but not around reefs (Robins and Ray 1986). Striped Mojarras (Eugerres plumieri) are rather deep-bodied fish, dark olive above and tan to silvery on the sides, often with a metallic sheen. Bold black stripes run along the scale rows (excluding the belly). All fins except for the pectoral fins are dusky in large adults; the pelvic and anal fins are sometimes dark orange. The pectoral fin is transparent. The pelvic spine and the first two (of three) anal spines are pale. The dorsal and anal spines are long and stout. Adults may reach 30 cm in length (maximum known size is 40 cm total length) (Robins and Ray 1986). Striped Mojarras are found from South Carolina (U.S.A.) and the entire Gulf of Mexico to Brazil, but are apparently absent from the Bahamas and some of the smaller islands of the West Indies. In the Gulf of Mexico, they are found along the west Florida coast north to about the middle of the peninsula and along the coasts of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Campeche. They are found in grassy areas and in brackish and coastal fresh waters (in limestone regions). They are often associated with mangrove-lined lagoons and muddy-bottomed coastal areas, often entering brackish and fresh water (Robins and Ray 1986; McEachran and Fechheld 2005). In a study in Mexico, Aguirre-León and and Diaz-Ruíz (2000) found that the principal food items consumed by Striped Mojarras were ostracods, foraminifers, nematodes, and tanaidacean crustaceans. In many areas, the Striped Mojarra is of significant commercial and recreational value, although some populations have been declining due to overfishing (Rueda and Santos-Martínez 1999; Rodriguez-Sierra and Jiménez 2002; Aguirre-León and and Diaz-Ruíz). Deckert and Greenfield (1987) reviewed the taxonomy and nomenclature of the western Atlanic species of Eugerres and the closely related genus Diapterus and Gonzalez-Acosta et al. (2007) provide a more recent taxonomic review of the western Atlantic species of Eugerres. Chen et al. (2007) present a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the relationships among four genera of western Atlantic Gerreidae, including Eugerres plumieri as one of the sampled species.

Oviparous (Ref. 41568).

Inhabits shallow coastal waters and common in brackish waters (Ref. 36880), mostly over mud bottoms in mangrove-lined creeks and lagoons (Ref. 3722); often entering a considerable distance into freshwaters (Ref. 36880). Feeds on aquatic insects, crustaceans, micro-bivalves and detritus (Ref. 36880); also on plants and other benthic invertebrates (Ref. 26987).

Inhabits shallow coastal waters and common in brackish waters (Ref. 36880), mostly over mud bottoms in mangrove-lined creeks and lagoons (Ref. 3722); often entering a considerable distance into freshwaters (Ref. 36880). Feeds on aquatic insects, crustaceans, micro-bivalves and detritus (Ref. 36880). Marketed fresh; processed into fishmeal (Ref. 3722).

fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; price category: medium; price reliability: very questionable: based on ex-vessel price for species in this family

Eugerres plumieri, the striped mojarra, is a demersal fish found in the western Atlantic, from North Carolina south along the U.S. coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Caribbean from Cuba to Puerto Rico, and along the Central and South American coast from Mexico to Colombia. It inhabits shallow coastal waters with low salinity in mangrove-lined creeks and lagoons. It feeds on aquatic insects, crustaceans, micro-bivalves and detritus. This species has high fecundity, producing 85,345 to 953,870 eggs, and reaches a length of 40 cm. It is abundant in Mexico and Colombia, where it is one of the most important fishing resources, both as food and fishing bait.