NOAA Technical Report NMFS 82 December 1989

Synopsis of Biological Data on the

Cobia Rachycentron canadum

(Pisces: Rachycentridae)

Rosalie Vaught Shaffer

Eugene L. Nakamura
NOAA TECHNICAL REPORI' NMFS _

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48. Widow rockfISh: Proceedings of a workshop. Tiburon, California. December

11-12.1980. by William H. l.cnanand Donald R. Gunderson (editors). January 1987.

S7 p.

49. Reproduction. movements. and population dynamics of the southern ItingflSh,

MenticirrItMs_ricanMs, in the northwestemGulfofMexico. by Stephen M. Harding

and Mark E. Chittenden. Jr. March 1987, 21 p.

so. Preparation of acetate pee1s of valves from the ocean quahog. Amico is/andica,

for age determinations. by John W. Ropes. March 1987. S p.

Sl. Status, biology. and ecology of fur seals: Proceedings of an international

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L. Gentry (editon). June 1987. 212 p.

S2. Limited access alternatives fOr the Pacific groundflSh fishery. by Daniel D.

Huppen (edilor). May 1987. 4S p.

S3. Ecology of east Florida sea turtles: Proceedings ofthe Cape Canaveral, Florida.

sea tunle workshop. Miami. Florida. February 26-27. 19S5. by Wayne N. Wittell

(convener and edilor). May 1987. BO p.

S4. Proximate and fatty acid composition of 40 southeastern U.S. finfish species.

by Janet A. Gooch. Malcolm B. Hale. Thomas Brown. Jr.• James C. Bonnet. Cheryl

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SS. Proximate composition. energy. fatty acid, sodium. and cholesterol content of

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S7. Food habits and dietary variability ofpelagic nekton offOregon and Washington.

1979-1984. by Richard D. Brodeur. Harriet V. Lorz. and William G. Pearcy. July

1987.32 p.

S8. Stock.-mentofthe OuIfmenhaden. BnvoortiapaJr01lUS. fishery, by Douglas

S. Vaughan. September 1987. 18 p.

S9. At1IDtic lJIllIlhaden. Brevoortia tyra1I1UIS. purse seine fishery. 1972-84, with a

brief discusaioa of age and size composition of the landings, by Joseph W. Smith,

William R. Nicholson, Douglas S. Vaughan, Donnie L. Dudley. and Ethel A. Hall.

September 1987. 23 p.

60. Gulfa-Mden.1JnlIoortiDpaJr01IUS. pune seine fishery. 1974-SS. with a brief

discusaioa of age and size composition of the landings, by Joseph W. Smith. Eldon

J. Levi. DouaJas S. Vaughan. and Ethen A. Hall. December 1987. 8 p.

61. MattuII ior stan:h gel electrophoresis: A method for the detection ofgenetic variation. by Paul B. Aebeno1d. Gary A. Winans. David J. Teel. George B. Milner, and

Fred M. Utter. December 1987. 19 p.

62. Fishery publication index. 1980-SS; Technical memoradum index, 1972-SS, by

CynIbia S. Martin. Shelley E. Arenas, Jaclti A. Guffey, and Jonl M. Packard.

December 1987. 149 p.

63. Stock UlIeSIIIlCIIl of the Atlantic lJIllIlhaden' BrevoortiD tyra1I1UIS, fishery. by

Douglaa S. Vaughan and Joseph W. Smith. January 1988. 18 p.

64. D1ustratcd key 10 penaeoid shrimps of commerce in the Americas. by Isabel Pmz

Farfante. April 1988. 32 p.

65. History ofwhaling in and near Nonh Carolina, by Randall R. Reeves and Edward

Mitchell. March 1988. 28 p.

66. Atlas and zoogeography of common fishes in the Bering Sea and nonheastern

Pacific, by M. James Allen and Gary B. Smith. April 1988. lSI p.

67. Index numbers and productivity measurement in multispecies fisheries: An

application to the Pacific coast trawl fleet. by Dale Squires. July 1988. 34 p.

68. Annotated bibliography n of the hard clam Mrrunaria mrrcrnaria. by J.L.

McHugh and Marjorie W. Sumner. September 1988, S9 p.

69. Environmental quality and aquaculture systems: Proceedings of the thirteenth

U.S.-Japan meeting on &qUlICU1ture. Mie. Japan, October 24-2S. 1984. edited by Carl

J. Sindennann. October 1988. SO p.

70. New and innovative advances in biology/engineering with potential fOr use in

aquaculture: Proceedings ofthe founeenth U.S.-Japan meeting on aquaculture, Woods

Hole. Massachusetts. October 16-17. 1985. edited by Alben K. Sparks. November

1988,69 p.

71 . Greenland turbot Rrinhardrius hippoglossoUks of the eastern Bering Sea and

Aleutian Islands region. by Miles S. Allon. Richard G. BaIckaIa. Gary E. Walters,

and Peter T. Munro. December 1988. 31 p.

72. Age detennination methods for nonhwest Atlantic species, edited by Judy Penttila

and Louise M. Dery. December 1988. I3S p.

73. Marine flora and fauna of the Eastern United States. Mollusca: Cephalopoda,

by Michael Vecchione. Clyde F.E. Roper. and Michael J. Sweeney. February 1989,

23 p.

74. Proximate composition and fatty acid and cholesterol content of 22 species of

nonhwest Atlantic finfish. by Judith Knynowek. Jenny Murphy. Richard S. Maney.

and Laurie J. Panunzio. May 1989, 3S p.

7S. Codend selection of winter flounder PsrudoplruTOMetrs americanus. by David

G. Simpson. March 1989. 10 p.

76. Analysis of fish diversion efficiency and survivorship in the fish return system

at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. by Millon S. Love. Meenu Sandhu.

Jeffrey Stein. Kevin T. Herbinson. Raben H. Moore, Michael Mullin. and John S.

Stephens, Jr. April 1989. 16 p.

77. D1ustrated key 10 the genera of free-living marine nematodes of the order

Enoplida. by Edwin J. Keppner and Armen C. Tarjan. July 1989.26 p.

78. Survey of fishes and water properties of south San Francisco Bay. California.

1973-82. by Donald E. Peanon. August 1989.21 p.

79. Species composition. distribution. and relative abundance of fIShes in the c:outaI

habitat off the southeastern United States, by Charles A. Wenner and George R.

Sedberry. July 1989. 49 p.

BO. Laboratory guide 10 early life hislory stages of nonheast Pacific fIShes. I

C. Matarese, Anhur W. Kendall. Jr., Deborah M. Blood. and Beverly M. '

October 1989.651 p.
NOAA Technical Report NMFS 82

FAD Fisheries Synopsis 153

Synopsis of Biological Data on the

Cobia Rachycentron canadum

(Pisces: Rachycentridae)

Rosalie Vaught Shaffer

Eugene L. Nakamura

December 1989

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Robert Mosbacher, Secretary

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

John A. Knauss, Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere

National Marine Fisheries Service

James Brennan, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not approve, recommend

or endorse any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned in this

publication. No reference shall be made to NMFS, or to this publication furnished

by NMFS, in any advertising or sales promotion which would indicate or imply

that NMFS approves, recommends or endorses any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned herein, or which has as its purpose an intent to cause

directly or indircctly the advertised product to be used or purchased because of

this NMFS publication.

II
CONTENTS

Acknowledgments iv

Abstract 1

Identity 1

1.1 Nomenclature 1

1. 11 Valid name 1

1.12 Synonymy 1

1.2 Taxonomy 1

1.21 Affinities 1

1.22 Taxonomic status 2

1.23 Subspecies 2

1.24 Standard common names, vernacular

names 2

1.3 Morphology 3

1.31 External morphology 3

*1.32 Cytomorphology

*1.33 Protein specificity

2 Distribution 3

2.1 Total area 3

2.2 Differential distribution 3

2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles 3

2.22 Adults 4

2.3 Determinants of distribution changes 4

2.4 Hybridization 4

3 Bionomics and life history 4

3.1 Reproduction 4

3.11 Sexuality 4

3.12 Maturity 4

3.13 Mating 5

3.14 Fertilization 5

3.15 Gonads 5

3. 16 Spawning 5

3.17 Spawn 6

3.2 Preadult phase 6

3.21 Embryonic phase 6

3.22 Larval and early juvenile phase 6

3.23 Juvenile phase 7

3.3 Adult phase 9

3.31 Longevity 9

3.32 Hardiness 9

3.33 Competitors 9

3.34 Predators 9

3.35 Parasites, diseases, and abnormalities 9

3.36 Chemical composition 11

iii

3.4 Nutrition and growth 11

3.41 Feeding 11

3.42 Food 11

3.43 Growth rate 11

*3.44 Metabolism

3.5 Behavior 14

3.51 Migrations 14

3.52 Schooling 14

3.53 Responses to stimuli 15

4 Population 15

4.1 Structure 15

4.11 Sex ratio 15

4.12 Age composition 15

4. 13 Size composition 15

4.14 Subpopulations 15

4.2 Abundance and density 15

4.3 Natality and recruitment 15

4.31 Reproduction rates 15

4.32 Factors affecting reproduction 15

4.33 Recruitment 15

4.4 Mortality 15

*4.5 Dynamics of population

*4.6 The population in the community and the

ecosystem

5 Exploitation 15

5.1 Fishing equipment 15

5.2 Fishing areas 16

5.3 Fishing seasons 16

5.4 Fishing operations and results 16

*5.41 Effort and intensity

5.42 Selectivity 16

5.43 Catches 16

6 Protection and management 16

6.1 Regulatory measures 16

7 Culture 16

7.1 Procurement of stocks 16

*7.2 Genetic selection of stocks

7.3 Spawning 17

7.4 Rearing 17

Citations 18

*No information available
Acknowledgments _

We thank all the contributors of personal communications, as acknowledged in the text.

We also thank Bruce B. Collette, NMFS Systematics Laboratory, Washington, D.C., and

James Franks, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi, for their

manuscript reviews and helpful suggestions, and Karen Burns of the Mote Marine

Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida, for additional references. Special thanks go to Robin M.

Overstreet ofthe GulfCoast Research Laboratory and Roger F. Cressey, National Museum

of Natural History, Washington, D.C., for their assistance with the parasite section.

IV
Synopsis of Biological

Data on the Cobia

Rachycentron canadum

(Pisces: Rachycentridae)

ROSALIE VAUGHT SHAFFER

EUGENE L. NAKAMURA

Panama City Laboratory

Southeast Fisheries Center

National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA

3500 Delwood Beach Road

Panama City, Florida 32408

ABSTRACT

Information on the biology and fisheries of cobia, Rachycentron

canadum, is compiled and reviewed in the FAD species synopsis style. Topics include taxonomy, morphology, distribution,

reproduction, pre-adult and adult stages, food, growth, migration, population characteristics, and various aspects of exploitation. Data and information were obtained from unpublished as

well as published sources.

Cobia, the only species in the family Rachycentridae, is a

migratory pelagic fish that occurs in tropical and subtropical

seas of the world, except in the central and eastern Pacific

Ocean. In the western Atlantic Ocean, spawning occurs during

the warm months. Eggs and larvae are planktonic. Females grow

faster than males: at 1 year, females are 36 cm FL and 0.4 kg;

at 4 years, 99 cm and 11 kg; and at 8 years, 137 cm and 31 kg.

Comparable data for males are: at 1 year, 31 cm and 0.3 kg;

4 years, 82 cm and 6 kg; and 8 years, 108 cm and 15 kg. Sexual

maturity is attained by males at about 52 cm FL in their second

year and by females at about 70 cm in their third year. Fecundity for females 100-125 cm FL varies from 1.9 to 5.4 million

eggs. Cobia favor crustaceans for food, but will feed on other

invertebrates and fishes as well. They attain a maximum size

of over 60 kg. Cobia are fished both commercially and recreationally. Commercially, they are usually caught incidentally in

both hook-and-Iine and net fISheries. In the United States, which

ranks behind Pakistan, Mexico, and the Philippines in commercial production of cobia, recreational landings exceed

commercial landings by more than ten-fold.

1 IDENTITY

1.1 Nomenclature

1.11 Valid name

Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus 1766) (Fig. 1): Originally described by Linnaeus as Gasterosteus canadus in 1766.

The type locality was listed as Carolina (Linnaeus 1766;

Systema Natura, p. 491).

1.12 Synonymy

The following synonymy is based on the work of Gill (1895),

Jordan (1905), and Jordan and Evermann (1896):

Gasterosteus canadus Linnaeus 1766 (type locality, Carolinas)

Scomber niger Bloch 1793

Centronotus gardenii Lacepede 1802 (Carolinas)

Centronotus spinosus Mitchill 1815 (New York)

Rachycentron typus Kaup 1826

Elacate atlantica Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831 (Brazil)

Elacate bivittata Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831 (Molucca)

Elacate malabarica Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831 (Malabar)

Elacate motta Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831 (Orixa)

Elacate pondiceriana Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831 (Pondicherry)

Meladerma nigerrima Swainson 1839

Naucrates niger Swainson 1839

Elacatc canada DeKay 1842 (New York)

Elacate jalcipinnis Gosse 1851 (Jamaica)

Elacate nigra Gunther 1860

Rachycentron canadus Jordan and Evermann 1896

Rachycentron pondicerrianum (sic) Jordan 1905

Rachycentron canadum Jordan 1905

1.2 Taxonomy

1.21 Affinities

Suprageneric

Phylum Chordata

Subphylum Vertebrata

Superclass Gnathostomata

Class Osteichthyes

Superorder Acanthopterygii

Order Perciformes

Suborder Percoidei

Family Rachycentridae

Generic

Genus Rachycentron Kaup 1826. Monotypic genus, see 1.22

and 1.3.
Figure 1

The Cobia, Rachycentron canadum (Goode 1884, plate 174).

Specific The following diagnosis of Rachycentron canadum

is from Collette (1978): "Body elongate, subcylindrical; head

broad and depressed. Mouth large, terminal, with projecting lower jaw; villiform teeth in jaws and on roof of mouth

and tongue. First dorsal fin with 7-9 (usually 8) short but

strong isolated spines, not connected by a membrane; second

dorsal fin long, anterior rays somewhat elevated in adults;

pectoral fins pointed, becoming more falcate with age; anal

fin similar to dorsal, but shorter; caudal fin lunate in adults,

upper lobe longer than lower (caudal fin rounded in young,

the central rays much prolonged). Scales small, embedded

in thick skin; lateral line slightly wavy anteriorly."

1.22 Taxonomic status

Rachycentron canadum is the only species in the family

Rachycentridae.

Affinities based on morphology of early life stages as well

as adults of species in the families Nematistiidae, Carangidae,

Coryphaenidae, Rachycentridae, and Echeneididae are discussed by Johnson (1984). He states that Rachycentron and

echeneidids have been assumed to be closely related (sister

groups) based on similarities in form, color, and fin shape

of juveniles of Rachycentron and Echeneis naucrates, but

that osteological examinations reveal a greater likelihood of

sister groups between Rachycentron and Coryphaena. This

latter affinity is especially shown in larval morphology of

the two genera. He also states, "Three synapomorphies unite

the Carangidae, Coryphaenidae, Rachycentridae, and Echeneididae as a monophyletic group ...Within the carangoids,

the Coryphaenidae, Rachycentridae, and Echeneididae form

a monophyletic group."

1.23 Subspecies

No subspecies are recognized.

1.24 Standard common names, vernacular names

The accepted common name for Rachycentron canadum in

the United States is cobia (Robins et al. 1980). The standard

2

FAO common names are: English, cobia; French, mafou;

Spanish, cobie (Collette 1978). Other names appearing in

the literature are:

United States Ling, sergeant fish, bonito, coalfish (Goode

1884); cabio, crabeater (La Monte 1952); lemonfish

(Manooch 1984); black bonito (Hildebrand and Schroeder

1928); lingcod, black salmon (Moe 1970); cubby-yew,

flathead (Burgess 1983)

Argentina Bonito negro (Menni et al. 1984)

Australia and India Black kingfish (La Monte 1952, Pillai

1982)

Brazil Bijupini (Figueiredo and Meneses 1980); ceixupira

(Duarte-Bello and Buesa 1973)

Colombia Bacalao (Menni et al. 1984)

Cuba Bacalao (Menni et al. 1984); medregal (Duarte-Bello

and Buesa 1973)

Guyanas Cabilo (Org. Econ. Coop. Develop. 1978)

Japan Sugi (Veno 1965)

Madagascar Sao ambina; poisson-sergent (Fourmanoir

1957)

Mexico Bacalao (La Monte 1952); bonito (Duarte-Bello and

Buesa 1973); esmedregal (Sec. Ind. Comer. Mex. 1976)

Pakistan Black kingfish; sanghra; sanglor (Bianchi 1985)

Persian Gulf Sikin (Kuronuma and Abe 1972)

Puerto Rico Bacalao (La Monte 1952, Erdman 1956)

Senegal and Gambia Warangall (Menni et al. 1984)

South Africa Runner; prodigal son (Smith 1965)

Tanzania Runner; songoro (Hatchell 1954)

U.S.S.R. Kobievye; serzhant-ryby (Lindberg and Krasyukova 1971)

Uruguay Bonito; bonito negro (Menni et al. 1984)

Venezuela Bacallao (Menni et al. 1984, Cervig6n 1966)
o

Figure 2

Range of the cobia, Rachycentron canadum.

1.3 Morphology

1.31 External morphology

Body elongate, fusiform; head very long, depressed; eye

small, interorbital wide, no adipose lid; snout broad, its

length 2.45-2.85 in head, eye 4.85-6.35 in head; head

4.05-5.3 in standard length (SL), depth 5.55-8.1; dorsal

spines 7-9, each depressible into a groove; dorsal rays 28-33;

anal fin with 1-3 spines, 23-27 rays; mouth moderate, lower

jaw projecting; maxillary reaching anterior margin ofthe eye,

2.3-2.6 in head; premaxillaries not protractile; gillrakers

short, 7-9 on lower limb of first arch; branchiostegals 7;

preopercle and opercle finely serrate marginally; vertebrae

11-14; caudal vertebrae 13 or 14; no air bladder; pyloric

appendages branched (Briggs 1974, Fowler 1936, Hardy

1978, Kuronuma and Abe 1972). A detailed study of the

cobia lateral-line canal system may be found in Siming and

Hongxi (1986). Veno (1965) gives morphometric data from

a Japanese specimen.

Color dark-brown above, a paler brown on sides and

below; a black lateral band, as wide as the eye, extending

from snout to base of caudal, bordered above and below by

paler bands; below this is a narrower dark band. The black

lateral band is very pronounced in the juvenile, but tends

to become obscured in the adult. Fins mostly all deep or

dusky brown; anal and pelvics pale with gray or dusky markings; ventral surface grayish white to silvery (Briggs 1974,

Fowler 1936, Hardy 1978, Smith 1907).

3

2 DISTRIBUTION

2.1 Total area

Cobia are widely distributed, occurring nearly worldwide

in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate waters (Fig.

2). In the western Atlantic, they occur from Massachusetts

and Bermuda to the Rio de la Plata, Argentina (Briggs 1958,

Menni et al. 1984, Nichols and Breder 1926), with the

northern range record of a 42.7-mm SL specimen collected

from the Scotian Shelf in Canada (Markle et al. 1980).

In the eastern Atlantic, cobia range from the Atlantic coast

of Morocco to South Africa (Monod 1973, Smith 1965).

They do not occur in the Mediterranean, except for possible

strays from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal (Golani and

Ben-Tuvia 1986). Cobia range throughout the Indian Ocean,

and in the western Pacific they are reported from Hokkaido,

Japan to Australia and the East Indies (Bianchi 1985, Fourmanoir 1957, Grant 1972, Hatchell 1954, Jordan and Seale

1906, La Monte 1952, Lindberg and Krasyukova 1971,

Relyea 1981, Veno 1965). Cobia do not occur in the eastern

Pacific.

2.2 Differential distribution

2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles

Most cobia eggs and larvae are found in offshore waters (see

3.16). Early juveniles move inshore and inhabit coastal areas,

near beaches, river mouths, barrier islands, lower reaches

of bays and inlets, or bays of relatively high salinities (Benson 1982, Hoese and Moore 1977, McClane 1974, Swingle
Table 1

Environmental data from cobia collections.

Water temp. Salinity

Location Date N Length/wt. (0C) (ppt) References

Western Atlantic

New Jersey Aug.* 2 49 mm TL; 51 mm TL 16.8 30.0 Milstein and Thomas 1976

North Carolina-Florida Sept. 1969- 10 22-126 cm TL 19.6-25.2 32.0-36.4 Wilk and Silverman 1976

May 1972

Jupiter Inlet, Florida Aug. 1960 22 cm SL >30.0 22.5 Christensen 1965

Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico Nov. 1950- 23.0-25.0** Springer and Bullis 1956

Dec. 1952

Buttonwood Canal, Florida July 1963 2 132 mm TL; 29.8 44.5 Roessler 1967

166 mm TL

Tampa Bay, Florida July 1958 I 77.0 mm SL 28.0 33.3 Springer and Woodburn 1960

Cedar Key, Florida Aug. 1950 2 7 kg; 14 kg 28.9 24.6 Reid 1954

Dog Keys Pass, Mississippi June and July 1967; IO 12.6-27 mm SL 25.9-32.0 28.9-37.7 Dawson 1971

June 1968

Eastern Atlantic

Ivory Coast Jan. 1983 3.8 kg 22.5 35.4 Lhomme 1983

*1972, 1973, or 1974

**Bottom temperatures, trawl-caught samples

1971). Dawson (1971) indicated that small juveniles (13-15

mm) were taken offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, whereas

larger specimens (45-140 mm) were most frequently '::01-

lected from inshore locations.

2.22 Adults

Adult cobia are coastal and continental shelf fish, occasionally

entering estuaries (Benson 1982, Collette 1978, Robins and

Ray 1986). They are pelagic, but may occur throughout the

water column (Freeman and Walford 1976), and have been

taken at depths of 50 m, and over waters as deep as 1200 m

(Springer and Bullis 1956). They are found in a variety of

habitats: Over mud, rock, sand and gravel bottoms; over coral reefs and in mangrove sloughs; inshore around pilings and

buoys, and offshore around drifting and stationary objects

(Freeman and Walford 1976, Goodson 1985, Hoese and

Moore 1977, Relyea 1981, Sonnier et al. 1976, Springer and

Bullis 1956).

2.3 Determinants of distribution changes

Temperature The distribution of cobia is greatly affected

by temperature. Generally, cobia occur in the cooler portion of their range only during the warm months of the year.

Cobia either migrate to warmer waters, or move offshore

to deeper waters during the colder months (see 3.51). They

have been collected from waters of 16.8-32.0°C (Table 1).

Hassler and Rainville (1975) reported 37.rC to be lethal

to juveniles. The juveniles tolerated temperatures down to

17.7°C, although they ceased feeding entirely at 18.3°C.

4

According to Richards (1967), cobia do not appear in the

Chesapeake Bay until water temperatures exceed 19°C.

Salinity Cobia generally occur in areas of oceanic or nearoceanic salinities, and can tolerate fairly hypersaline conditions. They have been taken from waters with salinities

ranging from 22.5 to 44.5 ppt (Table 1), but they may be

able to acclimate to slightly lower salinities. Hassler and

Rainville (1975) were able to rear cobia larvae successfully

in salinities as low as 19 ppt.

Food Cobia are known to move to areas of high food abundance, particularly abundances of crabs and other crustaceans

IDarracott 1977).

2.4 Hybridization

No hybrids of cobia are known (Schwartz 1972, 1981).

3 BIONOMICS AND LIFE HISTORY

3.1 Reproduction

3.11 Sexuality

Cobia are gonochoristic. No external sexual dimorphism has

been reported.

3.12 Maturity

Male cobia mature at a smaller size than females. Richards

(1967) reported that male cobia from the Chesapeake Bay

reached earliest maturity in their second year, at 51.8 cm

FL and 1.14 kg. Females reached earliest maturity in their

third year, at 69.6 cm FL and 3.27 kg.
Table 2

Fecundity estimates of cobia collected from Windmill Point and York Spit, Chesapeake Bay (Richards

1967). Ova measured 0.50-0.90 mm diameter.

Total ovarian Estimated total

Fork length Wt. Date Ovary tissue Egg count fecundity

(inches) (Ibs) (July 1963) condition (g) (avg.lg) (103 eggs)

49.1 57.75 17 Full 2113 2574 5439

48.8 54.75 17 Full 1877 2316 4347

46.5* 45.50 6** Partly spent 1121 2497 2799

39.2 26.25 17 Full 506 3825 1935

47.0 45.25 17 Partly spent 769 2866 2204

41.8 33.00 18 Full 1083 2464 2669

*Collected only at York Spit.

**1962

Cobia in other parts of the world may mature earlier. In

Indian waters, Rajan et al. (1968) collected a 42.6-cm TL

female with ovaries in the third stage of maturity.

3.13 Mating

Cobia form spawning aggregations (Richards 1967).

3.14 Fertilization

Fertilization is probably external, with both eggs and sperm

released simultaneously.

3.15 Gonads

Fecundity In the Chesapeake Bay area, Richards (1967)

reported that fecundity ranged from 1.9 to 5.4 million e~gs

for six cobia (Table 2). Richards also gave the relation

between fecundity (F), in 1()4 ova, and the body weight (wt)

in pounds of four fully-gravid females as F= 0.98 (wt)

- 6.39.

3.16 Spawning

Western North Atlantic The presence of gravid females

and appearance of cobia eggs in plankton collections indicated

that spawning occurs between mid-June and mid-August in

the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the mouth of the Chesapeake

Bay (Joseph et al. 1964). Richards (1967) indicated that cobia

spawn from late June through mid-August off Virginia, and

that multiple spawning may occur.

Spawning may occur earlier in North Carolina waters.

Hassler and Rainville (1975) collected nearly 2000 cobia eggs

from 23 May to the end of their sampling period on 28 June

in Gulf Stream waters 25-50 km from the coast. Spawning

appeared to peak between 10 and 17 June. Off South

Carolina, spawning has been recorded as early as mid-May,

extending to the end of August in offshore waters, approximately 80 km from the coast (Donald Hammond, S.c. Dep.

Wildl. Mar. Resour., P.O. Box 12559, Charleston, SC

29412, pers. commun., 8 Apr. 1987).

5

Table 3

Cobia larvae collected from Gulf of Mexico waters off the coast of

Texas (adapted from Finucane et al. 1978a).

Size Water depth Km from

Date Stn. no. N (mm) (m) coast (est.)

7/6/77 11-3 2 3.8 135 90

9/7/77 IV-3 3 4.0 90 80

9/8/77 111-2 4 6.8 "-'70 50

9/10/77 1-3 3 5.1 135 85

Gulf of Mexico Finucane et al. (l978a) implied cobia

spawning in the Gulf of Mexico from the collection ofsmall

larvae (3.8-6.8 mm) off the Texas coast in July and

September (Table 3). In an additional study, Finucane et al.

(l978b) collected six larvae (5.9-23.0 mm) off the coast of

Texas in July. Dawson (1971) reported that cobia less than

30 mm SL were taken from gulf coastal waters between 31

May and 12 July; the smallest specimens (16-19 mm SL)

were collected on 5 June. He also noted that the occurrence

of small specimens follows the appearance of adults in

northern gulf waters in March and April. Baughman (1950)

indicated that young cobia were common off Texas in May,

June, and July. Observations of what was believed to be

spawning by cobia have been made by James M. Barkuloo

(U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Panama City, FL, pers. commun.,

23 March 1988). On 8 and 10 August 1974, while on an oil

drilling ship in the Gulf of Mexico about 30 miles southwest

of Panama City, Florida, Barkuloo saw as many as nine cobia

ranging from 30 to 50 pounds each. The cobia separated into

groups of two or more and released eggs ("bubble-like")

and sperm ("white cloud") while undergoing changes in

body color from uniform brown to a light horizontal-striped

pattern on their lateral surfaces.

Caribbean Sea Erdman (1968) indicated that August was

the peak month ofspawning for cobia in Puerto Rican waters.
B

Figure 3

Development of cobia eggs Crom Ryder 1887, plate 3): A) Developing egg of Rachycentron canadum, showing

the spacious cleavage cavil· (s), Kupffer's vesicle (kv), the chorda (ch), segments (m) of the embryo, the

limbs (br) of the concresciug blastophore, the oil drop (0), and the optic vesicles (op); and B) an earlier

phase of the developing egg.

Indian Ocean Little is known regarding cobia spawning

in waters other than the western Atlantic. Darracott (1977)

indicated that cobia eggs have not yet been recorded from

the Indian Ocean, although ripe fish are found year-round.

She also indicated that cobia may migrate from the southern

Indian Ocean to spawn off coastal areas of the Arabian Sea.

Rajan et al. (1968) collected two small juveniles (7 mm TL)

in a lagoon of the Bay of Bengal, India, on 25 March 1960.

Day (1967) took a ripe female from Indian waters in March.

In Pakistan waters, ripe cobia are found in March and April

along the Baluchistan coast (Bianchi 1985). A female with

maturing eggs was collected from Madagascar waters in

October 1964 (Richards 1967).

3.17 Spawn

Unfertilized eggs from female cobia were described by

Richards (1967) as having three stages:

Immature Clear, nucleated cells, 0.10-0.30 mm in

diameter

Maturing Eggs with a clouded appearance and the oil

globule vaguely discernible, 0.36-0.66 mm in diameter

Mature Eggs clear or transparent, 1.09-1.31 mm in diameter (average 1.20 mm), with an oil globule 0.29-0.44 mm

in diameter (average 0.37)

Fertilized cobia eggs are pelagic, and can be identified by

the distinctively large oil globule. The yolk is segmented.

Both the oil globule and the embryo are yellow and mottled

with melanin pigment (Hassler and Rainville 1975). Joseph

et al. (1964) collected fertilized cobia eggs and described

6

them as ranging from 1.16 to 1.42 mm in diameter (mean

1.27 mm), with a single oil globule ranging from 0.34 to

0.44 mm in diameter (mean 0.38).

3.2 Preadult phase

The preadult phase has been summarized by Hardy (1978).

3.21 Embryonic phase

The development of cobia eggs in the laboratory has been

described by Ryder (1887) (Fig. 3). He reported a rapid

growth of the blastoderm; within 8 hours from fertilization,

the entire vitellus was included and covered by the blastoderm's epibolic growth. Eggs hatched within approximately 36 hours from fertilization (temperature unspecified).

Hassler and Rainville (1975) collected naturally spawned

cobia eggs, and found the highest hatching rates to occur in

tank water salinities of 33-35 ppt, with a water temperature

of approximately 26.5°C.

3.22 Larval and early juvenile phase

The following descriptions were taken from Hassler and

Rainville (1975):

Day 1 The l-day-old larvae are approximately 3 mm long

and colorless. Only a light-green tint is to be noted in the

area of the developing eye. The larvae have not yet begun

to feed actively and the yolksac is large and conspicuous.

A single fin extends dorsally from the head and ventrally

from the yolksac to the posterior, where it extends around

the caudal tip of the body.
Table 4

Measurements (mm) of selected characters of prejuvenile and juvenile Rachycentron canadum from the Gulf of Mexico (Dawson 1971).*

Cal. No. 4355 4354 4356 4356 4355 4353 4353 2359 4352 373 373

Standard length 12.6 12.9 13.6 13.7 15.3 16.6 18.2 23.5 27.0 44.3 55.0

Caudal fin length 3.1 2.6 3.0 3.3 3.7 4.3 5.1 7.1 9.3 15.0 16.8

Least caudal peduncle depth 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.4 2.4 2.8

Depth at anal fin origin l.l 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.1 2.7 4.6 5.4

Pectoral fin length 1.6 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.1 2.4 2.8 4.0 6.1 9.4

Pelvic fin length 0.7 0.7 0.9 1.0 0.7 1.4 1.8 3.1 4.5 8.7 10.1

Pelvic fin insertion to anal fin origin 3.5 3.9 4.1 4.1 4.7 4.5 4.9 6.2 7.3 12.3 15.3

Head length 3.6 3.5 3.8 3.8 4.7 13.7

Snout length 1.0 0.9 l.l 1.0 1.5 4.4

Eye diameter l.l 1.0 l.l l.l 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.8 3.1 3.5

Postorbital length 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.5 2.8 4.8 5.8

Interorbital width 0.6 0.9 1.0 l.l 1.5 1.5 3.2 4.5

Maxillary length 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.6 5.2

*AIl specimens are from the Museum of the Gulf Coast Laboratory. Ocean Springs. MS. except for Cal. no. 2359 collected by the Florida Department

of Natural Resources. Sl. Petersburg. FL.

Day 5 After 5 days, the larvae are 4-5 mm long. Eyes are

dark-brown and prominent. The yolksac is absorbed, and

development of the eye and mouth permits active feeding.

A faint yellow streak extends the length of the body, and

scattered blotches of melanin are evident. The fin structure

is the same as the day-l larvae; however, limited swimming

is now possible.

Day 10 By the tenth day, definite changes can be noted in

the larvae. The mouth, head, and eye are fully developed.

Musculature is now apparent throughout the body, permitting prolonged, active swimming. The single finfold persists,

and fin rays begin to appear in some areas. Pectoral fins are

now present. The larvae are light-brown and 5-10 mm in

length.

Day 30 The day-30 juvenile has begun to take on the

appearance of the adult fish. Distinct dorsal, anal. caudal.

pectoral, and pelvic fins develop. The dorsal fin extends from

midbody to a point just anterior to the caudal fin. The [anal]

fin also ends just before the caudal fin and begins just behind

the anus. The caudal fin is large and fan-shaped. Eight short

spines develop just anterior to the dorsal fin. Two color bands

run from the head to the posterior tip of the 30-day-old

juvenile. The white-to-yellow dorsal band and the black ventral band meet along the lateral line of the juvenile.

Day 59 After 59 days, the juveniles have grown considerably, but their general appearance is similar to the

30-day cobia. The most striking change has occurred in the

banding of the fish, which now appears to be black with

dorsolateral and ventrolateral gold or white bands. The dorsolateral bands extend anteriorly over the head, just above the

eye, and posteriorly to the caudal fin. The ventrolateral band

is not as distinct, and extends from under the mouth to the

caudal fin. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are black with

light-yellow tips.

7

Dawson (1971) gave detailed descriptions of prejuvenile

and juvenile cobia, 12.6-55.0 mm SL. His measurements

of selected characters are given in Table 4. Illustrations of

larval and juvenile cobia are given in Figures 4 and 5.

3.23 Juvenile phase

Joseph et al. (1964) described two juvenile cobia, 108 and

120 mm TL, collected from the mouth of the York River,

Virginia. These juveniles differed from adults most notably

in color pattern. They displayed a prominent black longitudinal band, extending the full length of the body, bordered

above and below by white stripes. The paired fins were black,

except for an inconspicuous margin on the pectorals. Dorsal and anal fins were marked with white margins on the

anterior portions. The caudal fin was broadly rounded, with

white margins on the dorsal and ventral edges (Fig. 6).

Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928) indicated that juveniles differ markedly from adults in having a "more elongate body,

less strongly depressed head, in having the caudal fin truncate instead offorked, and in being somewhat lighter in color and having a black lateral band, which extends from the

snout, through the eye, to the base of the caudal."

Wang and Kernehan (1979) described juvenile cobia 50

mm and larger as resembling the adult, but having a truncateto-broadly-rounded caudal fin rather than the lunate caudal

of the adult. They gave the following characteristics: Head,

long and depressed; lower jaw projecting out farther than

the upper jaw; all fin rays and spines developed (dorsal fin

with 8-9 spines, 30 rays; anal fin with 1 spine, 23 rays);

dorsal, pectoral, and anal fins elongate; dark horizontal band

extending from tip of snout to base of caudal fin; dorsum,

ventrum, and fins darkly pigmented (Fig. 7).
A

B

17.0mm

Figure 4

Larval development stages of cobia collected off the Texas outer continental shelf (Finucane et al. 1978a, fig. 146).

14.6 mm SL

31.0mmSL

.:".-.

Figure 5

Late larva and juvenile cobia (Hardy 1978, fig. 226): A) Late lana, preopercular spines prominent, preanal finfold still evident; and B) juvenile.

8
180 mm TL

Figure 6

Composite drawing of a juvenile cobia (Joseph et a!. 1964, fig. 3).

82.9 mm TL

Figure 7

A juvenile cobia (Wang and Kernehan 1979, fig. 75).

3.3 Adult phase

3.31 Longevity

Cobia may reach a length of2 m (Cadenat 1950). The world

hook-and-line weight record for cobia is a 61.5-kg fish from

Australian waters in 1985 (lnt. Game Fish Assoc. 1988). According to Wheeler (1975), cobia weighing 68 kg have been

reported.

Cobia are known to live at least 10 yrs (Richards 1967),

and may reach an age of 15 yrs or more (Gulf Mex. S. Atl.

Fish. Manage. Counc. 1985).

3.32 Hardiness

Cobia are relatively adaptable to their environment and are

able to utilize a variety of habitats and food sources (see 2.2,

2.3, 3.35, 3.42).

3.33 Competitors

No studies have been done regarding the competitors of

cobia, but given the wide range of the cobia's habitats and

prey species, competition is probably not an important factor in their survival.

9

3.34 Predators

No studies have been done regarding the predators of cobia,

but they are presumably eaten by larger pelagic fishes.

Dolphin (Coryphaena hippurus) have been reported to prey

upon small cobia (Rose 1965).

3.35 Parasites, diseases, and abnormalities

Parasites of cobia include trematodes, monogeneans, cestodes, nematodes, acanthocephalans, and copepods (Table

5). Infections by some parasites appear to be heavy on

occasion. Madhavi (1976) reported 30 specimens of the

trematode Stephanostomum pseudoditrematis from a cobia

intestine. Intestinal damage from acanthocephalid worms was

severe in cobia examined by George and Nadakal (1981).

Rasheed (1965) and Overstreet (Robin Overstreet, GulfCoast

Res. Lab., P.O. Box 7000, Ocean Springs, MS 39564-7000,

pers. commun., 12 Aug. 1987) noted that whenever a cobia

was dissected for study, the stomach was found to be heavily

infected with the nematode Iheringascaris inquies.

Some parasites of cobia demonstrate a high degree of hostspecificity. The monogenean Dionchus rachycentris is

reported only from the cobia (Hargis 1957). The closely
Table 5

A partial list of parasites of cobia.

Parasite

Monogeneans

Dionchus rachycentris

(syn. D. hopkinsi)

Dionchus sp.

Digenetic trematodes

Laruea straightum

Lecithocladium jagannathi

Sclerodistomum rachycentri

Stephanostomum cloacum

S. dentatum

(syn. Distomum dentatum)

S. imparaspine

(syn. Distomum imparispine)

S. microsomum

S. pseudoditrematis

Sterrhurus monticelli

(syn. Distomum monticellii)

Tormopsolus flli/ormis

T. spatulum

Cestodes (metacestode stage)

Rhinebothrium sp.

Rhynchobothrium sp.

Scolex polymorphus

Tetrarhynchus bisulcatus

Nematodes

Goezia pelagia

lheringascaris inguies

(syn. Ascaris inguies,

Thynnascaris inguies,

Neogeozia elacateidae,

Contracaecum inguies,

I. iheringascaris)

Acanthocephalans

Serrasentis nadakali

S. sagittifer

(syn. Echinorhynchus sagittifer,

S. socialis)

Copepods

Euryphorus nympha

(syn. E. coryphaenae)

Lernaeenicus longiventris

Lernaeolophus hemiramphi

L. sultanus

Parapetalus gunteri

P. occidentalis

Tuxophorus caligodes

Geographic region

Gulf of Mexico-Texas

Gulf of Mexico-Florida

SW Pacific-Australia

SW Pacific-Australia

Arabian Sea-Pakistan

Bay of Bengal-India

Indian Ocean

Bay of Bengal-India

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

Gulf of Mexico-Florida

Bay of Bengal-India

Bay of Bengal-India

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

Gulf of Mexico-Florida

Bay of Bengal-India

Bay of Bengal-:ndia

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

Gulf of Mexico

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

Arabian Sea-Pakistan

Arabian Sea-Pakiston

Gulf of Mexico

Various

Arabian Sea-India

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

E. Atlantic-Senegal

Gulf of Mexico

Arabian Sea-India

Gulf of Mexico-Texas

Gulf of Mexico-Texas

Gulf of Mexico-Texas

Gulf of Mexico-Mississippi

Gulf of Mexico-Texas

SW Pacific-Australia

Indian Ocean-India

(Trivandrum)

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

Gulf of Mexico

Indian Ocean-India

(Trivandrum)

NW Atlantic-North Carolina

Gulf of Mexico-Texas

10

Site on host

Gills

Gills

Intestine

Stomach

Intestine

Rectum

Intestine

Intestine

Rectum

Intestine

Intestine

Alimentary canal

Stomach wall

Stomach

Stomach

Alimentary canal

Stomach and pyloric caeca

Stomach and pyloric caeca

Intestine and pyloric caeca

Intestine

Intestine

Intestine and pyloric caeca

Intestine

Fin surface

Body surface

Gills

Gills

Gills

Inside surface of operculum

Body surface

Gills and inner surface of

operculum

Body surface

Body surface

Reference

Koratha 1955

Hargis 1957

Young 1970

Rohde 1978

Jahan 1973

Ahmad 1981

Parukhin 1978

Hafeezullah 1978

Linton 1905

Sogandares-Bernal and Hulton 1959

Madhavi 1976

Madhavi 1976

Linton 1905

Sogandares-Bernal and Hulton 1959

Madhavi 1976

Hafeezullah 1978

Linton 1905

Linton 1905

Linton 1905

Linton 1905

Deardorff and Overstreet 1980

Linton 1905

Rasheed 1965

Khan and Begum 1971

Overstreet 1978

Deardorff and Overstreet 1981

George and Nadakal 1981

Linton 1905

Golvan 1956

Overstreet 1978

Soota and Bhaltacharya 1981

Causey 1953

Causey 1953

Causey 1953

Dawson 1969

Pearse 1952

Kabata 1967

Pillai 1962

Wilson 1908

Causey 1955

Pillai 1962

Wilson 1908

Causey 1953
related D. remorae is specific to some remoras. This similarity has been suggested as an indicator of a close phylogenetic

relationship between the two fishes (Hargis 1957, Koratha

1955). The adult nematode Iheringascaris inquies appears

to be restricted to cobia (Deardorff and Overstreet 1981).

A barnacle (Conchoderma virgatum) has been found on

a cobia from Mississippi waters. It was not attached directly to the fish, but to the parasitic copepod Lemaeolophus

sultanus, embedded just posterior to the last dorsal fin ray

(Dawson 1969).

There is little information in the literature regarding

diseases of cobia. Heart abnormalities have been reported.

Several cobia hearts examined by Howse et al. (1975)

revealed pericardial adhesions, probably resulting from

pericarditis. Also, the cobia is reported to be one of the fishes

affected by red tide organisms (Galtsoff 1954).

3.36 Chemical composition

The composition of cobia (raw muscle tissue) was reported

by Sidwell (1981): Moisture 74.9%, protein 18.9%, fat

5.4 %, ash 1.3%, carbohydrates 0%. The caloric content was

124 calories per 100 g.

Moderately high levels of mercury have been found in

cobia from Texas offshore waters. Bright and Pequegnat

(1974) reported a concentration of 0.71 parts per million of

mercury in cobia muscle tissue.

of occurrence of Callinectes, and a 46 % frequency of occurrence of penaeid shrimp in cobia stomachs. Crustaceans

occurred in 100% of the cobia stomachs examined by Darracott (1977). Out of a total of 40 organisms found in cobia

stomachs by Miles (1949), 29 were crabs.

Donald Hammond raised cobia from 30 days to 1 yr of

age, and found that they did not thrive unless they received

crustaceans in their diet (S.c. Dep. Wild!. Mar. Resour.,

P.O. Box 12559,Charleston, SC 29412, pers. commun.,

8 Apr. 1987). Cobia also feed upon squid and a variety of

small, particularly demersal fish, such as eels, sea catfish,

and sciaenids. Cobia food habit studies are summarized in

Table 6.

Little is known regarding the food habits of larval and

young juvenile cobia. Hassler and Rainville (1975) successfully fed laboratory-raised cobia a diet of wild zooplankton, dominated by copepods.

3.43 Growth rate

Cobia appear to grow rapidly and have a moderately long

life span. Richards (1967, 1977) studied the growth of cobia

from the Chesapeake Bay and found that scale annuli were

formed in midsummer. His age, length, and weight data are

given in Table 7. His growth equations for male and female

cobia were:

Female W = -4.57 U·79 (n=9, r=0.97)

Male W = -5.19 L315 (n=9, r=0.99)

Total W = -4.58 U83 (n=48, r=0.96)

(18 could be sexed)

where W = weight in kilograms, and L = length in centimeters.

As scaling parameters in the negative range are unreasonable, it is likely that Darracott (1977) substituted the log

parameter values into the non-log form of the equation.

Therefore, the correct equations should read:

where FL = fork length in centimeters, W = weight in

kilograms, and t = time in years. Solutions for these equations for 1-8 years are given in Table 8 (Richards 1977).

Female cobia appear to grow more rapidly and attain greater

size than males (Richards 1967, 1977).

The length-weight relationship for cobia was calculated by

Richards (1967) to be: Log W = (3.088 log L) - 3.506,

where W = weight in pounds. and L = fork length in inches.

The curvilinear relationship was the same for males and

females (Fig. 8). Darracott (1977) reported the length-weight

relationship of cobia from the Tanzanian area of the Indian

Ocean as:

Females

FL = l64(1-e-o.226(I+o.o8)

W = 54.5(1-e-02251)3088

Males

FL = 121 (1-e-028(I+006)

W = 21.3(1-e-O.281)3.088

11

3.4 Nutrition and growth

3.41 Feeding

Cobia are known to be voracious feeders, often engulfing

whole prey. Darracott (1977) reported undamaged crustaceans in cobia stomachs. Fisher (1891) compared cobia's

feeding with that of the pike. To a large extent, cobia feed

near the bottom; however, the presence of pelagic fish in

some samples indicates that they also take prey near the surface (Knapp 1951).

Cobia exhibit some degree of commensalism. They are

known to associate with rays, sharks, and other large fish.

and have been observed in captivity to take in a larger fish's

rejected food scraps (Takamatsu 1967, Smith and Merriner

1982). The rays may also stir up benthos upon which the

cobia feed (Smith and Merriner 1982).

Feeding appears to decrease with lowered temperatures.

Hassler and Rainville (1975) observed that 90-day-old

laboratory-reared juvenile cobia ceased feeding when water

temperatures were lowered to 18.3°C. Also, cobia may cease

feeding during spawning (Richards 1967). No studies have

been done regarding the cobia's diurnal feeding habits. Cobia

may time their migrations with the availability of important

prey species, such as crustaceans (Darracott 1977).

3.42 Food

Cobia are carnivorous, feeding extensively on crabs, other

benthic invertebrates, and fish. They have been called the

"crabeater" due to the prevalence of this food item in their

diet (Randall 1983). Knapp (1951) found a 42 % frequency
Female Log W = 2.79 Log L

Male Log W = 3.15 Log L

Total Log W = 2.83 Log L

4.57

5.19

4.58

Hassler and Rainville (1975) also described the lengthweight relationship of larval and juvenile cobia with the

exponential equation: Log W = 2.4035 Log L - 1.3007.

Table 9 provides the average weight and length-at-age of

cobia to 131 days of age.

(J. Jeffery Isely, Panama City Lab., Southeast Fish. Cent.,

Nat!. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Panama City, FL 32408,

pers. commun., 28 Sept. 1989).

Hassler and Rainville (1975) described exponential weight

and length increases in cobia larvae and juveniles older than

10 days with the equations:

Log W = 4.360 Log X - 4.318,

where W = weight in mg, and X = age in days.

Log L = 1.425 Log X - 0.587,

where L length in mm, and X = age in days.

12
Table 7

Calculated fork lengths and average length-weight data for cobia samples from catches within Chesapeake Bay, 1960-64 (Richards 1967).

Mean capture No. Mean capture Calculated lengths (inches) at successive annuli

Sample weight of length

Age size (lbs) fish (in.) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Males

I 3 3.3 4 21.4 15.1

II 32 8.3 37 28.1 14.1 24.6

III 16 16.7 18 33.2 13.9 22.9 30.1

IV 9 21.2 10 37.1 13.9 23.6 30.2 34.8

V 12 26.3 13 39.7 13.9 23.7 30.1 34.7 38.0

VI 9 30.3 12 40.9 13.4 20.2 27.0 32.3 36.3 39.3

VII 4 32.0 4 41.4 12.8 19.1 25.4 29.8 33.4 36.8 39.7

VIII 0 0

IX 2 39.1 2 43.0 10.6 16.2 20.5 24.0 29.6 34.0 36.4 39.2 41.6

X I 41.8 I 47.0 11.8 20.2 23.7 27.1 32.5 38.2 40.5 42.4 44.3 45.9

Total 88 101 Grand average 13.8 23.1 28.8 32.9 36.2 38.3 39.1 40.3 42.5 45.9

Females

I 6 4.0 6 22.9 15.3

11 11 10.2 15 30.7 14.3 25.0

III 25 24.5 30 37.5 14.0 24.5 34.4

IV 17 29.2 20 41.0 13.9 23.3 31.6 38.1

V 34 43.5 39 45.6 14.3 24.2 32.7 38.5 42.8

VI 19 48.1 22 47.1 14.0 23.0 30.3 35.7 40.8 44.7

VII 13 55.4 14 49.5 14.7 23.5 30.7 36.2 40.6 44.2 47.4

VIII 7 62.7 7 51.3 14.2 22.3 28.6 33.5 38.4 42.8 45.8 49.2

IX 3 67.3 3 52.5 13.3 22.8 31.0 34.5 39.2 42.2 44.6 47.7 50.3

Total 135 156 Grand average 14.2 23.8 32.0 37.0 41.4 44.1 46.6 48.7 50.3

Table 8

Length and weight solutions for cobia growth equations

(Richards 1977).

Females Males

Fork Fork

length Weight length Weight

t

(years) in. cm Ibs kg in. cm Ibs kg

I 14.0 36 0.85 0.4 12.2 31 0.6 0.3

2 24.2 61 5.2 2.4 20.8 53 3.4 1.5

3 32.3 82 13.3 6.0 27.3 69 8.2 3.7

4 38.8 99 24.0 10.9 32.3 82 13.9 6.3

5 44.0 112 35.7 16.2 36.0 91 19.6 8.9

6 48.1 122 47.5 21.5 38.8 99 24.8 11.2

7 51.4 131 58.6 26.6 40.9 104 29.3 13.3

8 54.0 137 68.7 31.2 42.5 108 33.1 15.0

Figure 8

Length-weight relationship for

cobia collected from Virginia

waters (Richards 1967, fig. 2).

13

100

90

60

70

'"0

z 60 :J

0

Q.

>- 50 J:

W

40

30

20

10

0

0
Table 9

Age and average weight and length data of larval and juvenile cobia

(modified from Hassler and Rainville 1975).

Weight (mg) Length (mm)

Age No. of

(days) specimens Avg. Range Avg. Range

1 5 1.0 3.0

2 5 2.2 2-3 3.6 3.0-4.0

3* 3 1.0 3.7

4* 3 2.7 2-3 3.7 3.5-4.0

5 3 8.7 8-9 4.7 4.5-5.0

6* 4 9.2 9-10 4.9 4.5-5.0

7* 3 8.0 7-10 4.8 4.5-5.0

8* 3 1.0 5.3 5.0-5.5

9 2 7.0 6-8 6.5 6.0-7.0

10 1 10.0 9.0

10* 1 4.0 6.0

12* 3 4.0 6.7

13* I 9.0 9.0

14 1 30.0 16.0

15* 1 8.0 9.5

18 1 30.0 19.0

19 7 11.4 20-10 12.1 10.0-15.5

20 I 20.0 16.0

22 11 42.7 20-90 24.2 10.0-30.0

23 3 41.7 35-50 23.1 22.5-24.0

24 13 46.9 20-120 24.2 19.0-33.0

25 1 90 24.5

28 1 60 29.0

30 1 90 29.0

36 1 920 65.0

43 1 130 34.0

51 I 3,750 93.0

59 8 4,140 1,350- 7,500 98.2 69-120

71 2 19.745 6,900-12,590 138 128-149

73 I 12,480 141

83 4 10,425 8,900-12,520 142 134-148

88 2 22,865 22,390-23,340 166 165-166

99 I 25,350 183

102 I 33,610 196

107 1 43,200 201

109 I 34,300 187

110 I 12,000 127

111 I 25,000 178

112 I 71.000 205

120 I 64,000 210

124 1 74,000 225

131 1 80,000 231

*Larvae were reared on Brachionus plicatilis and Artemia Salina.

3.5 Behavior

3.51 Migrations

Western North Atlantic Cobia make seasonal migrations

in connection with changes in water temperature and with

spawning. In the Chesapeake Bay, cobia were found to enter

the bay in late Mayor early June, and leave by mid-October

(Richards 1977). Tagging studies indicated that there was

a distinct group that returned to the bay every summer

(Richards 1977).

14

Cobia have long been reported to have a north-south/

spring-fall movement pattern along the southeastern United

States (Smith 1907, Hardy 1978), and fishermen have been

known to track their spring run from Florida to South

Carolina (McNally 1985). Recent tagging studies, however,

show an inshore-offshore/spring-fall movement by the cobia

population off the coast of South Carolina (Donald Hammond, S.C. Dep. Wildl. Mar. Resour., P.O. Box 12559,

Charleston, SC 29412, pers. commun., 8 Apr. 1987). A

record of extensive migration resulted from that study: A

cobia tagged off Charleston in June 1984 was recovered in

April 1986 off Biloxi, Mississippi.

Gulf of Mexico In Gulf of Mexico waters, cobia winter

in the Florida Keys, and move north and west along the gulf

coast in the spring. Fish tagged in the Florida Keys during

the winter of 1974 were recovered during the spring and summer of subsequent years from locations ranging from St.

Petersburg, Florida, to the Texas-Louisiana border. The

following winter, four were recaptured from the original tagging locations (Donald Hammond, pers. commun., see

above). More recently, a cobia tagged off Galveston, Texas,

in July 1987 was recovered off Sisal, Yucatan, Mexico, in

January 1988 (Steve Qualia, P.O. Box 4746, Corpus Christi,

TX 78469, pers. commun., 9 Feb. 1988).

Indian Ocean Little information is available on movements

of cobia in other parts of the world. Darracott (1977) indicated that cobia from southern Indian Ocean waters may

move north to spawn off the coast of Arabia. Smith and

Heemstra (1986) reported that cobia migrate to South African

waters during the austral summer, occasionally reaching

False Bay.

Eastern Atlantic In June, cobia move north along the

African coast from the Senegal-Guinea area, returning there

in December (Champagnat and Domain 1978).

3.52 Schooling

Cobia may be solitary or travel in small groups or "pods"

of2-8 or more fish (Benson 1982, Burgess 1983, Moe 1970).

They form aggregations during the spawning season

(Richards 1967).

Associations Cobia associate with larger fish, such as rays

and sharks, and sea turtles (Baughman 1950). This behavior

has been observed in captivity (Smith and Merriner 1982,

Takamatsu 1967) as well as at sea. It is so well known that

fishermen often consider schools of large rays to be indicators

of cobia (McNally 1985, Moe 1970). In South Africa, cobia

are often observed with groups of remoras (Smith and

Heemstra 1986). Explanations for the cobia's associations

have been proposed, e.g., the increased availability of food

(Smith and Merriner 1982, Takamatsu 1967), and as part

of the cobia's generalized sheltering behavior (Carr 1987)

(see also 3.53).
3.53 Responses to stimuli

Cobia are known to be attracted to inanimate objects in the

sea. According to Baughman (1950), "They are found

around buoys, under floating debris, around large fish and

under sea turtles, to name only a few ofthe many items with

which they have been observed associating. " They are also

found around pilings, wrecks, and other artificial structures

(Hardy 1978, Wickham et al. 1973). Cobia show a strong

tendency to lie in the shadow of a boat (Joseph et al. 1964).

They appear to be attracted to noise (Goodson 1985, Sasser

1984).

Cobia are a favorite with sport fishermen due to their

fighting ability, strength and speed (Henshall 1895, McClane

1974). They are known to make determined runs and leaps

when hooked (Grant 1972, Smith 1965).

4 POPULATION

4.1 Structure

4.11 Sex ratio

Richards (1967) found a female-to-male ratio of 1.54: 1 for

257 cobia from the Chesapeake Bay region. Of 48 cobia from

Tanzanian waters, 9 were identified as male and 9 as female

(Darracott 1977). Out of 301 cobia from southeastern U.S.

and Gulf of Mexico waters, the female-to-male ratio was

1.20: 1 (L. Alan Collins, Panama City Lab., Southeast Fish.

Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Panama City, FL

32408, pers. commun., 10 Nov. 1987).

4.12 Age composition

The only study on age composItIon of cobia is that of

Richards (1967). He examined 257 fish from Chesapeake

Bay area landings, 1960-64, and showed that for males,

age-II fish were the most abundant, whereas for females,

age-V fish predominated, followed closely by age-III fish

(Table 7).

4.13 Size composition

Darracott (1977) reported that the modal length of 48 cobia

caught off Tanzania was 75-85 cm FL, and the modal weight

was 5-10 kg. Richards (1967) found that females attain

greater size than males; the most abundant size range for

females was 95-120 cm FL, and 70-85 cm FL for males

(Table 7).

4.14 Subpopulations

From tagging studies, Richards (1977) concluded that

"Chesapeake Bay cobia may be a distinct group or subpopulation." A separate stock of cobia in the Gulf of Mexico has also been suggested (Jones et al. 1985, Gulf Mex.

S. Atl. Fish. Manage. Counc. 1985).

15

4.2 Abundance and density

Cobia is considered to have low abundance throughout its

range. It has relatively higher abundance in the Arabian Sea

and in the Gulf of Mexico. See section 5.43.

4.3 Natality and recruitment

4.31 Reproduction rates

See section 3.15.

4.32 Factors affecting reproduction

No studies have been done regarding factors affecting reproduction.

4.33 Recruitment

The rate of recruitment for cobia is considered to be low

(Gulf Mex. S. Atl. Fish. Manage. Counc. 1985).

4.4 Mortality

Richards (1977) noted that the total mortality rate for cobia

from the Chesapeake Bay area, including both commercial

and sport fishing as well as natural mortality, could be excessive. From tagging studies, he calculated a sport fishing

mortality for cobia of 0.30 ± 0.21, with a probability of

95 %. From his data, an annual survival rate was calculated

with 95% confidence limits: S = 0.66 ± 0.04 (Gulf Mex.

S. Atl. Fish. Manage. Counc. 1985).

5 EXPLOITATION

5.1 Fishing equipment

Commercial fishery Throughout most of its range, cobia

is an incidental catch in the various fisheries. In Pakistan,

the world's largest producer of cobia, fishermen catch them

with handlines, bottom trawls, driftnets, and floating gillnets

(Bianchi 1985). In India, they are usually taken with drift

gill nets, handlines, and troll lines from the inshore coastal

waters (Pillai 1982). In the Philippines, cobia are caught incidentally in the purse-seine and trawl fisheries (Aprieto

1985, Aprieto and Villoso 1979). In the Persian Gulf, cobia

are a common bycatch of the shrimp fishery (Kuronuma and

Abe 1972).

In the United States, cobia are caught commercially in

pound nets, gill nets, and seines (Manooch 1984). They are

also taken incidentally by shrimp trawlers in the Gulf of Mexico, and as a commercial supplement to the Texas charterboat fishery (Gulf Mex. S. Atl. Fish. Manage. Counc. 1985).

Recreational fishery Cobia are highly prized and sought

by recreational fishermen, who angle for them from boats,

beaches, piers, and jetties. According to McClane (1974),

"The most popular tackle for cobia is heavy spinning gear

designed to cast 15-25-pound test monofilament lines. Large

plugs, similar to those used for striped bass in blue scale or

silver-flash finishes, and 1V2-3-ounce jigs with white or
yellow skirts are standard baits. A 3-foot wire leader (No.

7-9) or a 6O-80-pound test monofilament shock tippet is

necessary. " Other baits used for cobia include a variety of

small, live fish, squid, cut bait, large shrimp, and artificial

spoons (Daigle 1984, McClane 1974).

5.2 Fishing areas

Cobia are caught incidentally in commercial fisheries

throughout their range, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico

and the Arabian Sea. The primary recreational fishery for

cobia is located in United States waters. They are also fished

recreationally in Australia (Grant 1972), southeastern Africa

(Hatchell 1954, Smith 1965), and the Caribbean (La Monte

1952). They are usually caught in shallow coastal waters,

but have been taken in trawls from waters as deep as 50 m

(Springer and Bullis 1956).

5.3 Fishing seasons

Since water temperature influences the movement of cobia,

they are generally fished in the cooler portions oftheir range

in the summer and the warmer portions juring the winter.

In the Chesapeake Bay region, cobia season extends from

May to October, with a peak in July (Richards 1965). Along

the east coast ofthe United States, sport fishermen can follow

the northward movement of cobia from south Florida in

January to the Carolinas in May (McNally 1987). In south

Florida, cobia are fished mostly in the winter (Gulf Mex.

S. Atl. Fish. Manage. Counc. 1985). In North Carolina

waters, cobia are caught from May to August, with a peak

in June (Manooch and Laws 1979). In South Carolina, cobia

season extends from May to September (Bearden 1961). In

the Gulf of Mexico (U.S. waters), cobia are fished in the

spring and summer, with a strong "spring run" in the

northern Gulf from mid-March to May (Burgess 1983, Gulf

Mex. S. Atl. Fish. Manage. Counc. 1985).

In Tanzania, anglers catch cobia during August and

September (Hatchell 1954), and in Australia from September

to November (La Monte l(52).

5.4 Fishing operations and results

5.42 Selectivity

Cobia is generally an incidental catch of various commercial fisheries. Selectivity in the recreational fishery is probably limited to hook size.

5.43 Catches

Cobia is a highly prized food fish, generally sold fresh. It

holds up well as a frozen product, and also makes a fine

smoked product (Seafood Leader 1987).

Commercial landings of cobia are the highest in Pakistan,

Mexico, and the Philippines (Table 10). India is also a major

producer of cobia, reporting widely fluctuating landings;

e.g., between 1969 and 1980, annual landings ranged from

200 to 880 metric tons (Pillai 1982). Most cobia landed in

16

Table 10

Commercial landings (metric tons) of cobia by country, 1980-86

(FAD 1983,1988). (U.S. landings have been revised by NMFS data;

see Table 11.)

Country 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986

Pakistan 606 1405 1971 1384 1134 887 769

Mexico 134 385 334 753 626 497 472

Philippines 395 334 298 412 741 378 629

United States 31 45 55 55 73 74 97

United Arab Emirates 70 30 36 36 30 30

Bahrain 19 39 44 42 22 19 16

Qatar 19 21 49 62 37

Saudi Arabia 74

Total 1185 2278 2751 2703 2681 1947 2124

the United States are taken from Gulf of Mexico waters

(Table 11).

Recreational landings of cobia are not well documented.

An estimated 216,000 cobia (2,029,000 Ibs or 920 mt) were

landed in U.S. waters in 1965 (Deuel and Clark 1968), while

119,000 (900,000 Ibs or 408 mt) were landed in 1970 (Deuel

1973). Recreational landings (Table 12) are substantially

greater than commercial landings (Table II) in the United

States.

6 PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT

6.1 Regulatory measures

In the United States, the cobia fishery is managed by the Gulf

of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, and is included in the fishery management plan for

coastal migratory pelagic resources (Gulf Mex. S. Atl. Fish.

Manage. Counc. 1985). The current regulation consists of

a size limit (33 in. or 83.8 cm FL); no allocations or quotas

are applied at this time.

7 CULTURE

Few studies have been done on the culture of cobia. However, Hassler and Rainville (1975), in a small-scale study,

raised cobia from fertilized eggs to l31-day-old juveniles.

They found them to be good potential aquaculture organisms

due to their fast growth, ease of handling, and tolerance of

variable environmental conditions.

7.1 Procurement of stocks

In May and June of 1974, Hassler and Rainville (1975) collected 1979 naturally spawned cobia eggs in plankton tows

off Hatteras Village, North Carolina. Most ofthe eggs were

hatched and larvae reared in 38-liter tanks, although some

76-liter tanks were also used. The seawater was filtered
Table 11

u.s. commercial cobia landings (pounds), 1978-87. (Data from NMFS Southeast and Northeast Fisheries Centers.)

State 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987

Atlantic

Massachusetts 100

Maryland 100 100

Virginia 600 600 1,400 1,400 2,000 900 1,900 2,400 1,180 536

North Carolina 1,928 3,552 5,128 5,260 10,574 4,279 6,701 6,640 18,303 32,672

South Carolina 219 220 1,363 10,137 16,286 11,367 2,523 1,464 3,690 4,718

Georgia 168 497 1,126 2,304 1,497 2,570 611 2,561 2,705

East Florida 9,200 7,100 19,971 22,008 13,604 12,936 16,742 15,069 32,588 55,002

Subtotal 11,947 11,640 28,359 39,931 44,868 30,969 30,436 26,384 58,322 95,633

Gulf

West Florida 40,200 36,900 29,900 42,400 51,300 69,400 103,300 104,895 89,546 99,336

Alabama 3,304 5,700 2,491 1,799 776 3,291 3,604 2,097 11,454 5,169

Mississippi 280 250 700 100 7,370 5,513 9,940 11,427

Louisiana 359 332 4,718 2,905 153 1,033 3,247 16,873 33,628 39,092

Texas 13,600 7,674 2,200 13,100 24,200 17,200 12,702 6,442 11,628 8,140

Subtotal 57,463 50,886 39,559 60,204 77 ,129 91,024 130,223 135,820 156,196 163,164

U.S. total

(pounds) 69,410 62,526 67,918 100,135 121,997 121,993 160,659 162,204 214,518 258,797

(metric tons) 31.5 28.4 30.8 45.4 55.3 55.3 72.9 73.6 97.3 117.4

Table 12

U.S. recreational cobia landings (1()3 Ibs) for the years 1981-87.

(Data from Marine Recreational Fishing Statistics Survey, NMFS,

Wash., D.C.)

Year Atlantic Gulf of Mexico Total

1981 5 2632 2637

1982 336 1106 1442

1983 175 1637 1812

1984 896 778 1674

1985 655 600 1255

1986 542 1250 1792

1987 608 759 1367

17

before use. Water quality in the tanks was maintained by the

use of algae, subgravel filters, and external filters. The tanks

were continuously aerated and illuminated. Water exchanges

were made when necessary. Most eggs hatched within 12

to 20 hrs after placement in tanks. The hatching percentage

ranged from 24 to 76% per tank. Most mortality occurred

in the first 10 days. Temperatures were generally held at

26.5°C, salinity at 35 ppt, pH at 8.3, dissolved oxygen above

5.5 mg/L, and nitrite levels below 1 ppm.

7.3 Spawning

Artificial spawning of cobia in the laboratory has not been

recorded; however, R.E. Earll reportedly succeeded in

artificially fertilizing cobia eggs in 1880 (Goode 1884).

7.4 Rearing

In the Hassler and Rainville (1975) study, cobia larvae were

fed wild zooplankton collected from a saltmarsh creek, at

the rate of 1.33 food organisms per cubic centimeter oftank

capacity per day. The size of the zooplankters, dominated

by copepods, was increased as the larvae grew. In three of

the tanks, larvae were fed laboratory-raised rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) and brine shrimp (Artemia salina) during

day-I to day-14. After eight days of growth, the larvae fed

wild zooplankton showed a much greater growth rate, up

to twice the growth of the larvae fed laboratory-raised food.

After 40 days, juvenile cobia were fed a diet of small mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis holbrookii), supplemented by

shrimp, cooked bluefish, and ground trout chow. Growth

results were given in section 3.43.
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19

Hassler, W.W., and R.P. Rainville

1975 Techniques for hatching and rearing cobia, Rachycentron

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Hatchell, G.W.

1954 Sea-fishing on the Tanganyika coast. Tanganyika Notes and

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1895 Notes on fishes collected in Florida in 1892. Bull. U.S. Fish

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1977 Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico; Texas, Louisiana, and adjacent

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1975 Pericardial adhesions in cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus).

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20

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1968 New records of fishes from the Chilka Lake. J. Zool. Soc. India

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1980 A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United

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1978 Monogenea of Australian marine fishes. The genera Dionchus,

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21

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FISHERIES SYNOPSES

This series of documents, issued by FAO, CSIRO, INP, and NMFS, contains comprehensive reviews of present knOWledge

on species and stocks of aquatic organisms of present or potential economic Interest. The Fishery Resources and Environment Division of FAO Is responsible for the overall coordination of the series. The primary purpose of this series Is to make

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and NMFS are working to secure the cooperation of other organizations and of Individual scientists in drafting synopses on

species about which they have knowledge, and welcome offers of help In this task. Additions and corrections to synopses

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addressed to the coordinators and editors of the Issuing organizations, and suggestions regarding the expansion or modification of the outline to FAO:

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U.SA.

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time. Requests for copies of synopses should be addressed to the Issuing organization; except for NMFS/S copies, these

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NMFSlS 133

NMFSlS 134

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NMFSlS 136

NMFSlS 140

NMFSIS 141

NMFSlS 142

NMFSlS 143

NMFSlS144

NMFSIS 148

Synopsis of biological data on the grunts Haemulon aurolineatum and H. plumierl (Pisces:

Haemulldae) February 1983

Synopsis of biological data on the plgfish, Orthopristls chrysoptera (Pisces: Haemulldae) March 1983

Synopsis of biological data on skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pe/amis January 1984

Synopsis of biological data on the blue crab, Callinectes sapldus Rathbun March 1984

Synopsis of biological data on shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur 1818 October 1984

Synopsis of biological data on the plnflsh, Lagodon rhomboides (Pisces: Sparldae) February 1985

Synopsis of biological data on the spottall plnflsh, Diplodus holbrooki (Pisces: Sparldae) January 1985

Synopsis of biological data on the sand perch, Diplectrum formosum (Pisces: Serranldae) March 1985

Synopsis of biological data on the pink shrimp, Pandalus borealis Kr.yer 1838 May 1985

Synopsis of biological data on the porgies, Calsmus sretifrons and C. proridens

(Pisces:Sparidae) September 1986
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TECHNICAL REPORI'S-JounII1 quality wilh exleOaive

details. madIemaIicaI developmenta, or dala u.tings.

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