Spot (fish) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Spot (fish) |
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The spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) is a small, short-lived saltwater fish. It is also known as the spot croaker, Norfolk spot, or Virginia spot. This fish lives in estuaries and coastal waters. You can find it from Massachusetts all the way down to Texas. It gets its name from a clear dark spot behind each of its gills. The spot fish is the only species in its group, called Leiostomus. People often catch spot fish for fun, and they are good to eat.
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What is a Spot Fish?
The spot fish has a body that is quite deep and flat from side to side. Its back is a bit humped. Its mouth is almost flat and has many small teeth. This fish does not have a whisker-like barbel on its chin. Instead, it has five small pores there. More pores are found on its snout and sides.
The top part of its gill cover has a small cut. The edge of the bone in front of its gill cover is smooth. The dorsal fin, which is on its back, has a deep cut in it. This cut separates the front spiny part from the back soft-rayed part. The spiny part has 11 spines. The soft-rayed part has 29 to 35 soft rays.
The anal fin, on its belly, has two spines and 12 or 13 soft rays. The second spine is about half the length of the first soft ray. The tail fin is mostly flat, sometimes with a small notch. Spot fish have large scales, except for those under their eyes and on their lower head. These scales are smooth. A row or two of scales runs along the base of the soft part of the dorsal fin.
This fish can grow up to 36 centimeters (about 14 inches) long. However, a length of 25 centimeters (about 10 inches) is more common. The top of its body is bluish-gray. Its lower body is yellow or golden. Young spot fish have dark bars that run from their back to their sides. These bars fade as the fish gets older. There is a big black spot on its body, right above the top edge of its gill cover.
Where Spot Fish Live
The spot fish lives in the western central and northwest parts of the Atlantic Ocean. You can find it along the Gulf of Mexico. It lives along the southern coast of the U.S., from Massachusetts down to Campeche, Mexico.
Spot fish usually live in waters no deeper than 6 meters (about 20 feet). But they can be found up to 50 meters (about 164 feet) deep. They live in salty waters, especially brackish waters. Brackish water is a mix of fresh and salt water. They prefer sandy and muddy seabeds.
Spot fish live in estuaries and bays until spring. Then, they move to deeper offshore waters to lay their eggs. During summer, they move to water with more salt. When autumn starts and the water gets cooler, they move further offshore.
What Spot Fish Eat
The spot fish is an omnivore. This means it eats both plants and animals. It mostly eats small creatures that live on the seabed. These include:
- Worms called polychaetes
- Small crustaceans, like tiny shrimp
- Small fish
- Small plankton
- Mollusks, like tiny snails
It also eats plant and animal detritus. Detritus is tiny bits of dead plants and animals.
Importance for People
The spot fish is very important for both fun fishing and commercial fishing. In 2021, people caught 322 tonnes (about 710,000 pounds) of spot fish in the Southern Atlantic waters of the U.S. Most of this, about 71%, was caught by people fishing for fun. The other 29% was caught by commercial fishermen. A large part of the commercial catch, 64%, came from Virginia.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Spot fish lay their eggs from fall to early winter. They move from their usual bay and estuary homes to deeper offshore areas. A female spot fish can lay up to 1.7 million eggs! The eggs are fertilized outside the body. Then, currents push the eggs back toward the shore.
The baby fish, called larvae, grow quickly in the warmer offshore water. They then move into shallow coastal waters and bays for the winter.
Protecting Spot Fish
Spot fish are protected and watched over. This is done under a plan called the Chesapeake Bay Atlantic Croaker and Spot Fishery Management Plan from 1991. An earlier plan from 1987 aimed to reduce the number of young fish caught by accident. This often happened when shrimpers were fishing for shrimp.
There is also a project in New Jersey trying to raise spot fish in special farms. This is to see if they can be grown for commercial sale.
Spot Fish in Culture
The North Carolina Spot Festival is a fun event. It is held in Hampstead, North Carolina. This festival takes place on the last weekend of September each year.
