Words By: Kit Belen
The Narrow-barred Spanish Mackarel (Scomberomorus commerson), commonly called kingfish in the UAE, is a mackerel of the Scombridae family. It is found in a wide-ranging area centering in Southeast Asia but also as far west as the east coast of Africa and from the Middle East and along the northern coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, and as far east as Fiji in the South West Pacific. They are common down both sides of Australia and they are also found as far north as China and Japan.
They are vivid blue to dark grey in colour along their backs and flanks that fades to a silvery blue grey on the belly. Kingfish have plenty of narrow, vertical lines down the sides. Kingfish are one of the largest of predators in the Gulf, growing to approximately 200cm and up to 70kg.
Kingfish are voracious and opportunistic carnivores. As with other members of the genus, it feeds mainly on schooling sardines, anchovies and lesser quantities of squid and crustaceans.
Locally called Chan’naad and Khubbat; the kingfish is both recreationally and economically important.
Where to find
Kingfish can be found relatively close to shore in the cooler months, concentrating on near shore drop offs looking for baitfish. Offshore, they can be found on reefs and close to oil platforms. They can also be found following schools of baitfish, a sure indication of feeding kingfish are the presence of diving birds.
How to catch
To be successful at catching kingfish, the use of wire is important. Their razor sharp teeth will make short work of even 50kg monofilament leaders. Although shore fishing with live bait and lures has some success, trolling with live bait and lures are by far the most effective way of fishing for them.
You can cast out to a school busting baitfish on the surface marked by the birds, but approaching these schools on a boat almost always puts them out of feeding mode almost immediately. Kayak fishermen in recent years have seen success in chasing birds because of a noiseless approach.
There are a few effective lures for them; the commercial fishermen use a variety of spoons, while the majority of recreational anglers use trolling and casting plugs. If you happen across a school of feeding fish and are able to cast to them while on a boat or kayak, casting jigs works very well, as would a fly or live bait. Kayak anglers who troll live bait have a choice to simply reel the trolled live bait and casting towards the feeding fish, or troll past the school. For boaters, it is always a good idea to have a spinning rod with a casting spoon or jig on the ready when the situation arises.
Availability and conservation
Kingfish are one of the two most sought after fish by both commercial and recreational anglers, as such the fishing pressure on the stocks are regularly pounded, resulting in the disappearance of the bigger specimens near shore and the number of catch declining. Year on year, the catch rate slips down and conservation is hardly practiced. Although www.choosewisely.ae/ has placed the kingfish in the Red List, overfishing for them still continues.
