Florida Pompano

Credit: Illustration by Diane Rome Peebles

Family Carangidae

Description: greenish gray on back, shading to silvery sides; fish in dark waters showing yellow on throat, pelvic, and anal fins; deep flattened body with small mouth; no scutes; 22 to 27 soft dorsal rays; 20 to 23 soft anal rays; origin of anal fin slightly behind origin of second dorsal

Similar fish: permit, T. falcatus; palometa, T. goodei; the permit is deeper bodied; dorsal body profile not strongly angled at insertion of second dorsal fin; pompano rarely grow larger than 6 pounds; permit common to 40 pounds

Where found: inshore and nearshore waters, especially along sandy beaches, along oyster bars, and over grassbeds, often in turbid water; may be found in water as deep as 130 feet

Size: usually less than 3 pounds

Remarks: spawns offshore between March and September; feeds on mollusks and crustaceans, especially sand fleas; local movements are influenced by the tides, and seasonal movements are influenced by temperature