Alan Davidson

Bonito

Sarda sarda (Bloch)

Appears in
top 1000North Atlantic Seafood
North Atlantic Seafood

By Alan Davidson

Published 1980

  • About

Family Scombridae

  • Portuguese: Bonito, Sarda, Serrajão
  • Spanish: Bonito
  • French: Pélamide, Bonite à dos rayé
  • Dutch: Boniter
  • Other: Egalushe (Basque)

REMARKS Maximum length 90 cm, although never of this size in European waters. Sides and belly are silvery, the back steel-blue with dark blue slanting stripes. Note how far back, in relation to the eye, the upper jaw extends; this is a good recognition point, as is the straight upper edge of the first dorsal fin.

The bonito is found on both sides of the Atlantic, as far north as Cape Cod and the southern coast of Britain (and sometimes further, but it is not common north of the Bay of Biscay). Bonito swim around in shoals, often about fifteen to twenty miles from shore, and frequently leap out of the water while feeding.