Fish
Fish
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
The Tarpon is a spectacular, powerful game fish famed for its acrobatic leaps when hooked, found in Trinidad's coastal waters, estuaries, and even brackish and freshwater swamps, supporting one of the island's most prized recreational fisheries.
The Tarpon is a spectacular, powerful game fish famed for its acrobatic leaps when hooked, found in Trinidad's coastal waters, estuaries, and even brackish and freshwater swamps, supporting one of the island's most prized recreational fisheries.
Identification
A large, silvery fish with big, mirror-like scales, an upturned mouth adapted for surface feeding, and a long, trailing filament extending from the last ray of the dorsal fin. Adults can exceed 1.5 to 2 m and 100 kg, among the largest fish regularly encountered in T&T coastal and estuarine waters.
Ecology
Tolerant of an unusually wide salinity range for a large fish, moving freely between open coastal water, estuaries, mangrove creeks, and even fully freshwater swamps. It can gulp air at the surface using a modified, lung-like swim bladder connected to the gut, allowing it to extract oxygen directly from air and survive in low-oxygen water where most fish would suffocate. Prized above almost all other local sport fish for its powerful, aerial fights, including spectacular leaps clear of the water when hooked.
In Trinidad and Tobago
Found around Trinidad's coasts, river mouths, and swamps including Caroni and Nariva, supporting a significant catch-and-release sport fishing sector that values the species' fighting ability far above its use as food.
Threats
- Coastal and estuarine habitat degradation
- Overfishing pressure regionally
