Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber

Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber, Juvenile. Fish caught off the Anglin’s Fishing Pier, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, July 2020. Length: 8.2 cm (3.2 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber, Juvenile. Fish caught from within the Phil Foster Park, Riviera Beach, Florida, June 2023. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Broward County, Florida, August 2021. Length: 23 cm (9.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.

Bar Jack, Caranx ruber, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Key West, Florida, January 2014. Length: 26 cm (10 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Dean Kimberly, Atlanta, Georgia.

Bar Jack, Caranx ruber. Fish caught from coastal waters off Key Largo, Florida, January 2014. Length: 35 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber. Fish caught in coastal waters off Key Largo, Florida, December 2014. Length: 35 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Peoria, Illinois.

Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber. Fish caught off the beach at Playa de Carmen, Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, April 2012. Length: 50 cm (20 inches). Weight: 5.4 kg (11 lbs 14 oz). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Maurice Kerger, Holland.

Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber. Underwater photograph taken from within the Gulf Stream off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 2023. Photograph courtesy of Faith Hubsch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of Akumal, Quintana Roo, April 2016. Photography courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal. Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.

The Bar Jack, Carangoides ruber, is a member of the Jack or Carangidae Family, and is known in Mexico as cojinuda carbonera. There are twenty-two global members of the genus Carangoides, of which four are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific Ocean.

The Bar Jack has a moderately compressed deep oval body with a depth that is 27% to 31% of standard length. They are gray to gray-blue dorsally and transition to silvery then white ventrally. They have a dark horizontal bar that runs along their back just under their dorsal fin often accompanied by an electric blue stripe immediately below, after which they are named. Juveniles have up to 6 dark bands on their sides and their lower caudal lobe is darker than their upper lobe, foreshadowing the bar that will develop with maturity. All their fins are dusky. Their dorsal and ventral profiles are similar. They have a pointed snout and a small terminal mouth that ends under the first third of their medium-sized eyes. Their anal fin has 2 or 3 standalone spines followed by 23 to 26 rays; their caudal fin has a slender base and is deeply forked; their first dorsal fin has 8 or 9 spines; their second dorsal fin has 26 to 30 rays; and, their pectoral fins are longer than the head. They have 31 to 38 gill rakers on the lower arch and 10 to 14 gill rakers on the upper arch. Their body is covered with small scales. Their lateral line is moderately arched anteriorly with 23 to 29 prominent scutes.

The Bar Jack is a pelagic mid-sized subtropical schooling fish usually found in clear shallow waters, often over coral reefs, at depths up to 18 m (60 feet). They reach a maximum of 65 cm (2 feet 2 inches) in length and 6.8 kg (15 lbs 0 oz) in weight. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 3.32 kg (7 lbs 5 oz) with the fish caught from coastal waters off Brazil in May 2012. They live either as solitary individuals or in large schools. They are opportunistic predators feeding on benthic and pelagic fish as well as squid and crustaceans. In turn, they are preyed upon by larger fish including dolphin, marlin, sailfish and various seabirds.

The Bar Jack 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 Bar Jack cannot be confused with any other species due to the unique bar on the top of its back.

From a conservation perspective the Bar Jack is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. Due to this heavy fishing pressure their populations have declined in some regions. They are a component of the artisanal and commercial fisheries and also popular with recreational anglers. They are fished commercially via trawls and purse seines. Recreational anglers utilize light tackle with a variety of lures and baits. They are sold commercially on a limited basis, although their food value varies from fair to very good and larger fish are known to contain ciguatoxin. They are also used as a live bait for marlin and sailfish.