African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris, Juveniles. Underwater photographs taken within the Puerto Los Cabos Marina, Baja California Sur, August 2020. Photographs courtesy of Robert North.
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris, Juveniles. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2019 and December 2022. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris, Juvenile. Underwater photograph taken within the El Cid Marina Mazatlán, Sinaloa, February 2015. Photograph courtesy of Jason Potts. Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris, Juvenile. Fish provided by commercial bait salesmen, Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, November 2008. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches).
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris, Juvenile. Fish provided by commercial bait salesmen, Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, November 2008. Length: 30 cm (11.8 inches).
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, November 2014. Length: 45 cm (18 inches).
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris. Fish caught from shore off Roca de Ian, Bahia de Los Muertos, Baja California Sur, December 2019. Length: 69 cm (2 feet 3 inches). Weight: 4.9 kg (10 lbs 13 oz). One of these off the beach – WOW! Catch courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Photograph courtesy of Ian Franck, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, April 2023. Length: 79 cm (2 feet 7 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, March 2024. Length: 84 cm (2 feet 9 inches). Weight: 7.3 kg (16 pounds). Catch courtesy of Dick Lohrke Virginia City , Montana. Photograph courtesy of Kim Lohrke Virginia City , Montana.
African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris. Fish catch from coastal waters off Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. Note the soft dorsal ray deterioration. Photograph courtesy Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas, La Playita, Baja California Sur.
The African Pompano, Alectis ciliaris, is an exotic looking member of the Jack or Carangidae Family, and is known in Mexico as pámpano de hebra. Globally, there are three species in the genus Alectis, and only this species is found in Mexican waters, and it is one of the few species found in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.
The African Pompano has a deep strongly compressed body with a depth that is 38% to 88% of standard length; they become significantly more elongated with maturity. They are silvery in color with a light blue metallic tinge dorsally and a small dark spot on the upper gill cover. Juveniles have five chevron-shaped bars on the body with black and extremely elongated front anal and dorsal spines. The upper head profile is steeply rounded. Their anal fin has 2 standalone spines followed by 1 spine and 18 to 20 rays; their first dorsal fin has 7 short embedded spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 18 to 20 rays; their caudal fin is deeply forked; their pectoral fins are long and curved; and, their pelvic fins are moderately sized. They have 4 to 6 gill rakers on the upper arch and 12 to 17 on the lower arch. They do not have scales. Their lateral line has a pronounced long arch anteriorly and they have 12 to 30 scutes. They do not have scales.
The adult African Pompano is found over sandy bottoms and rocky structures from the surface to depths of 101 m (330 feet), however, juveniles are pelagic and are found near the surface, often within debris. They reach a maximum of 1.52 m (5 feet 0 inches) in length. As of March 31, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record for length stood at 1.00 m (3 feet 3 inches) with the fish caught from coastal waters off Key West, Florida in July 2011. The corresponding world record for weight stood at 22.9 kg (50 lbs 8 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Daytona Beach, Florida in April 1990. They are a solitary pelagic species known to aggregate around sunken debris such as ship wrecks where they spawn in the spring. Juveniles are similar in appearance to the medusa jellyfish which contain deadly venom, which is believed to give African Pompano some visual protection against predation. They consume crustaceans, small crabs, and fish. The African Pompano is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The African Pompano is a resident of Mexican waters of both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. In the Atlantic this includes the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean. In the Pacific they have a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja and from Guaymas, Sonora southward along the coast of the mainland to Guatemala.
The African Pompano can be easily confused with the Threadfin Jack, Euprepocaranx otrynter (pointed snout; straight angular head profile; juveniles lacking multiple long filamentous anal and dorsal fin rays).
From a conservation perspective the African Pompano is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable, widely distributed populations. They are viewed by locals as excellent table fare. The juveniles are also utilized by the aquarium trade at a modest level. Note: I have observed a major decline in the catch rates of this species over the last fifteen years and at present they are virtually non-existent. One rumor is that the Los Cabos populations have been depleted by the local sea lions but personally I believe this is due primarily to overfishing since they are known to congregate at certain times of the year in the same locations and thus become easy prey.