Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

saury Scomberesox saurus, a pelagic, shoaling, fish of the Mediterranean and N. Atlantic, which also has a circumglobal distribution in temperate waters of the southern hemisphere) Its other common names include needlefish and skipper, the first because its jaws project in the form of a thin beak, the second because of its habit of ‘skipping’ out of the water when escaping from predators. It reaches a length of about 45 cm (18").

The saury has edible qualities similar to those of the garfish, but is mainly important because it provides food for tuna and other valuable large fish.