Garfish

Overview

The garfish (Belone belone) is a slender, migratory pelagic fish easily recognized by its elongated, needle-like jaws filled with sharp teeth. It is widely distributed across the northeastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea, where it typically inhabits surface waters.

Appearance

This species features a highly elongated, laterally compressed body with a striking counter-shading pattern: a blue-green back that transitions to silvery-white flanks and a pale belly. Its most distinctive feature is the long, thin beak, with the lower jaw often slightly longer than the upper in adults. The dorsal and anal fins are positioned far back on the body, near the tail, and the lateral line runs low along the ventral margin.

Distribution & habitat

Garfishes are oceanodromous, spending much of their time in offshore pelagic environments. During the warmer spring and summer months, they migrate into shallower coastal waters, including seagrass beds, to spawn. They are commonly found in temperate marine and brackish waters.

Biology & behavior

As fast-swimming sight hunters, garfish are primarily active during the day, using their highly specialized eyes to track prey near the water's surface. They are known to leap out of the water when hooked or startled. During the spawning season, they attach their eggs to submerged objects or vegetation using sticky filaments. Interestingly, the species is sometimes noted for its green-colored skeleton.

Feeding

Their diet consists mainly of small schooling fish, such as herring, sprat, and sand eels, as well as various crustaceans and cephalopods.