page_title: Pelagic fish
section_title: Predator fish
hierarchical_section_title: Pelagic fish / Pelagic fisheries / Predator fish
caption_attribution_description: Major surface ocean currents.
context_page_description: Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters – being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore – in contrast with demersal fish that do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral reefs.
  The marine pelagic environment is the largest aquatic habitat on Earth, occupying 1,370 million cubic kilometres, and is the habitat for 11% of known fish species. The oceans have a mean depth of 4000 metres. About 98% of the total water volume is below 100 metres, and 75% is below 1,000 metres.
  Marine pelagic fish can be divided into pelagic coastal fish and oceanic pelagic fish. Coastal fish inhabit the relatively shallow and sunlit waters above the continental shelf, while oceanic fish inhabit the vast and deep waters beyond the continental shelf.
  Pelagic fish range in size from small coastal forage fish, such as herrings and sardines, to large apex predator oceanic fishes, such as bluefin tuna and oceanic sharks. They are usually agile swimmers with streamlined bodies, capable of sustained cruising on long-distance migrations. Many pelagic fish swim in schools weighing hundreds of tonnes.
context_section_description: Medium size pelagic fishes include trevally, barracuda, flying fish, bonito, mahi mahi, and coastal mackerel. Many of these fish hunt forage fish, but are in turn, hunted by yet larger pelagic fish. Nearly all fish are predator fish to some measure, and apart from the top predators, the distinction between predator fish and prey or forage fish, is somewhat artificial.
  Around Europe there are three populations of coastal mackerel. One population migrates to the North Sea, another stays in the waters of the Irish Sea, and the third population migrates southward along the west coast of Scotland and Ireland. The cruise speed of the mackerel is an impressive 10 kilometres per hour.
  Many large pelagic fish are oceanic nomadic species that undertake long offshore migrations. They feed on small pelagic forage fish, as well as medium-sized pelagic fish. At times, they follow their schooling prey, and many species form schools themselves.
  Examples of larger pelagic fish are tuna, billfish, king mackerel, sharks, and large rays.
  Tuna in particular are of major importance to commercial fisheries. Although tuna migrate across oceans, trying to find them there is not the usual approach. Tuna tend to congregate in areas where food is abundant, along the boundaries of currents, around islands, near seamounts, and in some areas of upwelling along continental slopes. Tuna are captured by several methods: purse seine vessels enclose an entire surface school with special nets, pole and line vessels that use poles baited with other smaller pelagic fish as baitfish, and rafts called fish aggregating devices are set up, because tuna, as well as some other pelagic fish, tend to congregate under floating objects.
  Other large pelagic fish are premier game fish, particularly marlin and swordfish.
caption: Major ocean surface currents
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