Ballyhoo, Hemiramphus brasiliensis

Ballyhoo, Hemiramphus brasiliensis, Juveniles. Fish caught from coastal waters off Long Island, New York, September 2023. Length: 7.5 cm (3.0 inches) and 8.1 cm (3.2 inches). Catches, photographs and identifications courtesy of Aidan Perkins, Long Island, New York.

Ballyhoo, Hemiramphus brasiliensis. Fish caught in coastal waters off Marathon, Florida, July 2018. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Ballyhoo, Hemiramphus brasiliensis. Fish caught in coastal waters off Key Largo, Florida, December 2014. Length: 25 cm (9.8 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Peoria, Illinois.

Ballyhoo, Hemiramphus brasiliensis. Fish caught in coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, July 2021. Length: 25 cm (9.8 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Ballyhoo, Hemiramphus brasiliensis. Fish caught off the Anglin’s Pier, Lauderdale-by the Sea, Florida, March 2016. Length: 25 cm (9.8 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

The Ballyhoo, Hemiramphus brasiliensis, is a member of the Halfbeak or Hemiramphidae Family, and known in Mexico as agujeta brasileña. Globally, there are ten species in the genus Hemiramphus, of which three are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.

The Ballyhoo has an elongated cylindrical body. They are dark bluish-black dorsally and silvery ventrally. All their fins are dark with the exception of the top lobe of their caudal fin, which is yellowish-red and a key to identification. Their beak has a red tip. Their lower jaw extends into a long beak and their upper jaw is short and triangular. Their anal fin has 12 to 14 rays and is at the rear of the body and mirrors the dorsal fin; their caudal fin is deeply forked with a much larger lower lobe; their dorsal fin has 12 to 15 rays; their pectoral fins are short and high on the sides and do not reach the nasal opening when folded forward; and, their pelvic fins are located on the abdomen at the rear. They have 28 to 36 gill rakers. They are covered with large smooth scales. Their lateral line is low on the body.

The Ballyhoo is a pelagic species and are also found in coastal waters over sandy bottoms at depths up to 6 m (20 feet). They reach a maximum of 41 cm (16 inches) in length. They are normally found in large schools mixed in with the Balao, Hemiramphus balao and are known to make short-range seasonal migrations. They feed on copepods, plankton and seagrasses. In turn they are preyed upon by birds, dolphins, dorados, marlins, porpoises, squid, and tuna. Reproduction is oviparous with females releasing approximately 1,200 large eggs annually that contain a sticky substance and allows the eggs to attach to floating debris. They have lifespans of up to four years. The Ballyhoo 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 Ballyhoo is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean.

The Ballyhoo is most likely confused with the Balao, Hemiramphus balao (black top caudal fin lobe; pectoral fins reaching nasal pit).

From a conservation perspective the Ballyhoo is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable, widely distributed populations. They are a very important live bait caught in large quantities via lampara nets off the southern Florida coasts including the Keys. They are unfriendly to divers and flee quickly.