R
enowned by anglers or theirwariness and ghting spirit,boneish are stealthy andspeedy residents o the shallowbays and backcountry o southFlorida. Although they are notusually consumed by people, bonesh are a majortarget o sport anglers, especially in the FloridaKeys, where bonesh are a pillar o the recreationalshing industry.
Description
These torpedo-shaped sh oten resemble grayghosts as they streak through the shallowbackwaters and along the ringes o mangroveorests. Their silvery color oten casts refectionso blue and green, and dark streaks punctuate thegaps between the scales on their upper body.Bonesh have a conical, scaleless head with ablack-tipped snout and small mouth. They havea single, sail-shaped dorsal n, a powerullymuscled body, and a deeply orked tail.Bonesh are grouped with tarpon, eels, andladysh because all o these sh have a similarlarval stage, but the only other characteristic theyshare is that most o them are not considered goodto eat. Nevertheless, tarpon andbonesh are greatly prized bysport anglers or their wilynature and tenacious spirit.Bonesh may live as long as19 years. Females are slightlylonger than males o the same age.
Range and Habitat
Bonesh reside in inshore marine waters. Asadults, they requent shallow fats, occupyingseagrass beds, sandy bottoms, and, occasionally,hard bottoms. They are oten ound in quietbackwaters along mangrove-ringed areas.Bonesh preer salty water, so they do not moveinto waters o the Everglades.In mid-summer and in winter, bonesh maymove out to deeper waters, but they typically donot migrate long distances. Boneish areoccasionally ound as ar north as the Indian RiverLagoon on Florida’s east coast.Worldwide, bonesh occur in coastal andinland waters o tropical seas. Scientists havediscovered at least eight species o bonesh, butmore may exist. There is usually little dierencebetween species in the way they look. Two Pacic
Scientific name
Albula vulpes
Size
To 3 eet, 15 pounds
Range
Worldwide in tropical seas
Habitat
Shallow, inshore seagrass beds, mud fats, or sand fats
Status
Commercial sale prohibited; recreational harvest limited to one sh per day,with a minimum size o 18 inches
BONEFISH
Gray Ghosts of the Flats
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissionFish and Wildlife Research Institute
bonesh and three Atlantic bonesh remain asunnamed species. Separate bonesh species havebeen collected together in Australia, Hawaii, andBrazil. Indeed, in the Florida Keys, scientists haverecently conrmed that two species occur,
Albulavulpes
and an unnamed species. At present, theycan only be distinguished by genetic testing.
Life History
Where boneish spawn is also a mystery.Researchers believe their spawning grounds areprobably located outside their traditionalshallow-water habitats, either oshore or in anarea where currents are likely to carry the eggsoshore. Larvae in early stages o developmenthave been captured in oshore waters, whereaslarvae in later stages o development have beenound in nearshore waters on the ocean side othe Florida Keys. Additionally, scientists have beenunable to catch “ripe” emales in inshore areas,but they note that another explanation or thismight be that emales do not eed or bite hooksright beore or ater spawning.Bonesh spawn rom November through Mayor June, producing rom 400,000 to 1.7 millioneggs. Scientists don’t know i they can spawn morethan once in a season. The heavier and older thesh, the more eggs she will produce.The eggs hatch into larvae called leptocephali,strange-looking, transparent creatures with largeeyes and a ribbonlike body. Bonesh leptocephalilook like tiny eels with orked tails. Althoughsimilar in appearance to tarpon larvae, boneshleptocephali reach a larger maximum size o about2.5 inches—although tarpon will ar surpassbonesh in size as adults. The larval phase lastsrom 41 to 71 days. When the larvae transorm tojuveniles, each individual looks like a tiny bonade bonesh and will take up residence in theshallows, where it will spend most o its lie.Bonesh grow rapidly or ve to six years otheir lie, ater which their growth rate slows con-siderably. Males reach sexual maturity at a youngerage and smaller size than emales. Males matureat an average o 3.6 years o age and 17.4 inches.Females reach maturity at about 4.2 years and 18.8inches. Bonesh are typically ound in groups, orschools, o a ew to as many as 100 individuals.
2A
Stage I larva,leptocephalus7.8 mm SL
B
Stage I larva,leptocephalus33.5 mm SL
C
Stage II larva37.1 mm SL
E
—D.R. Peebles
B
—B. Eldred, 1967
A, C, D
—E. Alexander, 1961. A contribution tothe lie history, biology and geographical distri-bution o the bonefsh,
Albula vulpes
(Lin-naeus). Dana-Rep. Carlsberg Found. 53.
HOW A BONEFISH LOOKS AS IT GROWS
3
Bonesh have a airly nondiscriminating palate.They eat a variety o ood, including small crabs,snails, worms, shrimp, and other crustaceans, aswell as toadsh. They requently eed along thebottom and, in the process o grubbing in silt andsand, may incidentally ingest plant matter.Bonesh are built or speed or good reason.They are oten preyed upon by sharks and bar-racuda, and their only deense against these attacksis to fee, as quickly as possible. They are very waryand alert animals, and these characteristics makethem a challenge to catch.
Economic Importance
Because they are not tasty to eat, bonesh wereprobably considered trash sh until shing orleisure came into ashion. Since World War II,boneshing in the fats o Biscayne Bay, FloridaBay, and the Upper Keys has become an extremelypopular and protable enterprise. Today, dedicatedboneshing enthusiasts can buy rods, reels, andeven specially made fat-water skis named atertheir avorite quarry.Bonesh are an economic lieline or the manycharter shing guides in the Florida Keys, and thethrill o snaring these savvy backwater gladiatorshas inected celebrities, athletes, and even U.S.presidents. Baseball legend Ted Williams, arenowned outdoorsman, devoted a chapter tobonesh in his book o avorite sh and shingspots.Because boneshing is predominantly a catch-and-release shery, neither the number o boneshcaught each year nor their associated economicvalue is known. However, it is estimated that atleast hal o the 400 or so charter shing guidesin the Keys oer their services or boneshing,with a probable economic impact o several milliondollars.The Middle to Upper Keys, including FloridaBay, Islamorada, and Key Largo, are the ocal
D
Juvenile51.2 mm SL
E
Adult ca. 584 mm TL
Standard length (SL)
: toend o vertebral column
Total length(TL)
: when caudal rays are squeezed together
Examination o the stomach contents o bonefshhas revealed that they eat at least 106dierent types o ood.
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