[12], The giant trevally is considered one of the top gamefish of the Indo-Pacific region, having outstanding strength, speed and endurance once hooked. Its range extends eastwards along the Asian coastline, including Pakistan, India and into Southeast Asia, the Indonesian Archipelago and northern Australia. Spawning occurs at specific stages of the lunar cycle, when large schools congregate to spawn over reefs and bays, with reproductive behaviour observed in the wild. GT’s like all trevally are a hard fighting species that will test the skill of most anglers, they are the ultimate when it comes to popper crunching, arm wrenching power!
Culturally, the fish was seen as a god, and treated as gamefish which commoners could not hunt. [54] Since 1990, giant trevally taken from the main Hawaiian islands have been blocked from sale by auction internationally due to concerns over liability from ciguatera poisoning.
Taste rating The bluefin trevally rarely reach the length of more than 80 cm.
[20] Sex ratio estimates from the Hawaiian Islands suggest the population is slightly skewed toward females, with the male:female ratio being 1:1.39. The fish grows relatively fast, reaching sexual maturity at a length of around 60 cm at three years of age.
[20] The use of von Bertalanffy growth curves fitted to observed otolith data shows an individual of around 1 m in length is approximately 8 years old, while a 1.7 m fish would be around 24 years old.
It is known the two species school together, including at spawning time, which was considered to be the reason for hybridisation.
Very Large
The local name of the saltwater giant trevally is familiar to most: talakitok, an adage shared with other members of the Carangidae family―many of which can be found all over the archipelago―and which share the maliputo’s steep and blunt head profile, ovate-shaped and moderately compressed body, and the silver-gray color found in smaller specimens of giant trevally. The large number of reef fishes suggests that it spends much of its time foraging over shallow-water reef habitats, but the presence of squid and the schooling carangid Decapterus macarellus indicates exploitation of more open-water habitats as well. [22] Spawning occurs during the warmer months in most locations, although the exact dates differ by location. [40] Sampling of schools prior to spawning suggests the fish segregate into schools of only one sex, although the details of this are still unclear. Medium class lever drag reels and light rods are ideally suited for this exciting style of fishing. The giant trevally reproduces in the warmer months, with peaks differing by region. [18] Fish greater than 50 cm show sexual dimorphism in their colouration, with males having dusky to jet-black bodies, while females are a much lighter coloured silvery-grey. The giant trevally is the largest member of the Caranx genus, with specimens recorded at 170 centimeters (cm) and 80 kilograms (kg).
[28], Juvenile to subadult giant trevally are known to enter and inhabit estuaries, the upper reaches of rivers and coastal lakes in several locations, including South Africa,[29] Solomon Islands,[30] Philippines,[31] India,[32] Taiwan,[33] Thailand,[34] northern Australia,[35] and Hawaii.
Giant Trevally.
Initial evidence of hybridisation was morphological characteristics intermediate to the two species; later genetic tests confirmed it was indeed a hybrid.
Considered a local delicacy in the lakeshore towns, the once-abundant maliputo population has approached rare status, but in 2006, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has devised a means to mitigating this problem, while addressing the need to sustain livelihood and achieve food security. When a school is formed during feeding, one individual will take a leading position, with others trailing behind it. [43] The species is also popular with spearfishermen throughout its range.
[24][36] Locations for spawning include reefs, the reef channels and offshore banks.
[13] Historically, the species has been taken in far greater numbers, and has been an important food, market and game fish since the early 1900s. Observations from South African estuaries indicate the schools of smaller juveniles tend not to intermingle with schools of other species, but larger subadults are known to form mixed-species schools with the brassy trevally. [52] It is sold at market fresh, frozen, salted, smoked, and as fishmeal and oil. [58] In recent years, the development of both jigging and surface-popping techniques has seen the giant trevally become an extremely popular candidate for catch and release fishing,[10] with many charter operators based around this concept. The species is commonly taken on bibbed plugs, minnows, spoons, jigs and poppers, soft plastic lures and saltwater flies. It is a semipelagic fish known to spend time throughout the water column, but is mostly demersal in nature. To be successful in these locations, fishing during night time is necessary. [27] It is also easily attracted to artificial reefs, where studies have found it to be one of the predominant species around these structures in Taiwan. [18] Sex ratio estimates from the Hawaiian Islands suggest that the population is slightly skewed toward females, with the male:female ratio being 1:1.39. A marine biologist rejected the idea and said Ms Craney's wounds were instead likely to be from a giant trevally or a red sea bass. These supersized fish are a rare occurrence, though; Fish-base notes that specimens average at 60 cm. [6] In Hawaii, the species is almost exclusively referred to as ulua, often in conjunction with the prefixes black, white, or giant.
You might also want to visit the local gym a few times before attempting to fish for G.T’S!
Image Source/Getty Images Species . [15] The caudal fin is strongly forked, and the pectoral fins are falcate, being longer than the length of the head. Tropical and Subtropical regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. However, their exploitation has seen the landings of the species decrease by over 84% since the turn of the century, declining from 725,000 lb to 10,000 lb in recent catches. Their jaw strength is great enough to bite off a person's finger, so be very careful when fishing for them!". [10] Black dots of a few millimetres in diameter may also be found scattered all over the body, although the coverage of these dots varies between widespread to none at all. As previously mentioned, as the giant trevally grows, it shifts from turbid inshore waters or estuaries to reefs and lagoons in bays, moving finally to outer reefs and atolls. [26], Juvenile to sub-adult giant trevally are known to enter and inhabit estuaries, the upper reaches of rivers and coastal lakes in several locations including South Africa,[27] Solomon Islands,[28] Philippines,[29] India,[30] Taiwan,[31] Thailand,[32] northern Australia[33] and Hawaii.
The species edibility has been rated from poor to excellent by different authors, although there are numerous reports of ciguatera poisoning from the species.
[24] The giant trevally is one of the most important apex predators in its habitats, both as adults on reefs and as juveniles in estuaries.
The trevally swim close by the seal, and when the seal stops to forage, the trevally positions its mouth inches away from the seal.