MEXICAN BONITO

Sarda orientalis

English:Mexican Bonito, Striped Bonito, Bonito, Bonita
Spanish: Bonito, Bonito Mono

Elongate, rounded; no fatty eyelids; top of tongue without cartilaginous crests; jaw teeth conical, large, prominent, 10-30 on each side of each jaw; 8-13 gill rakers; two dorsal fins close together, 1st  XVII-XIX spines; 6-8 finlets after dorsal and anal fins; tail base with 2 small keels separated by third larger keel; well developed corselet of large scales on front of body.

The Mexican Bonito is a coastal pelagic schooling species that is found near off shore reefs. It is only found between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz on the Baja California peninsula, south of Acapulco on mainland Mexico, and around all oceanic islands. The Mexican Bonito is normally found in the first 100 feet of the water column.

The “all tackle world record,” caught in Mexican waters as of 2004 stands at 27.0 pounds, with a length of 46.1 inches.

The Mexican Bonito is normally an incidental catch on almost any kind of lure or bait. For its size it puts up a horrific fight. It is viewed by locals as a bait fish with the smaller examples pinned to a 7/0 hook with 6-ounce sinker and returned immediately to the deep, or cut into chunks and sent to the bottom.

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