Found in the Indo Pacific around Japan,
China, and the Philippines, in the central
Pacific off Hawaii, throughout the western
Atlantic Ocean, in portions of the eastern
Atlantic Ocean (Madeira and southern and
western Africa), and in the Mediterranean
Sea in tropical and warm temperate waters.
It is found mainly near the surface in open
waters, but can be found at considerable
depths and around off shore reefs, wrecks,
buoys, etc.
The greater amberjack often have a
distinctive olive colored bar from the snout
through the eye, to the beginning of the
dorsal fin and a broad amber colored stripe
running horizontally along the flanks. The
amber stripe often causes anglers to confuse
this species with the yellowtails. However,
the greater amberjack can be distinguished
from other related species by the gill raker
count; greater amberjack over 8 inches long
have only 11 16 developed gill rakers on the
lower limb of the first branchial arch (the
count may be higher in smaller specimens),
whereas yellowtails have 21 28.
The rainbow runner has small separate
finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins
which are lacking in amberjacks. Greater and
lesser amberjacks can be separated by
counting the total gill rakers; 23-26 are
found in lesser amberjacks and 11-19 in the
greater.
The greater amberjack is the largest of the
jacks and the most sought after by sport
fishermen because of its qualities as a game
fish. It strikes fast, fights hard and often
dives for the bottom. Frequently when one
amberjack is brought to the boat, others
will follow it to the surface. Fishing
methods include trolling near the surface
with lures, spoons, plugs, jigs or strip
baits, and also live bait fishing. Many
incidental catches of amberjack are made
while fishing the bottom for snappers and
groupers.
The amberjack is high on the list of 300 or
more species of tropical marine fishes
suspected of causing ciguatera poisoning.
