Pluma Porgy, Calamus pennatula

Pluma Porgy, Calamus pennatula. Fish caught from coastal waters off Caye Ambergris, Belize, June 2012. Length: 25 cm (10 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Pluma Porgy, Calamus pennatula. Fish caught from coastal waters off No Name Key, Florida, December 2013. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Kenneth Tse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Pluma Porgy, Calamus pennatula, is a member of the Porgy or Sparidae Family, and is known in Mexico as pluma del Caribe or simply pluma. Globally, there are thirteen species in the genus Calamus, of which nine are found in Mexican waters, eight in the Atlantic Ocean and one in the Pacific Ocean.

The Pluma Porgy is characterized by their “porgy-like” deep compressed body, which are deepest at the beginning of their dorsal fin and have a depth that is of 44% to 48% of standard length. They are silvery overall with purple or lavender iridescent tinges. Their scales have yellowish brown edges with vertically elongated iridescent blue-green spots. They have a conspicuous rectangular blue blotch behind their eyes and across the edge of their gill covers and alternating blue and yellow horizontal lines under their eyes. They have a bright blue stripe and a small orange spot on top of the base of their pectoral fin. The corner of their mouth is pale yellow and the front of their throat is salmon-colored. Some fish have diffuse bars on their sides. Their head is deep with a moderately steep upper profile, a deep snout, and a small terminal mouth. Their mouth does not reach the eyes and is equipped with 1 or 2 enlarged pairs of canines at the front, 3 rows of molars on the top jaw, and 2 rows of molars on the bottom jaw. Their anal fin has a short base with 3 short spines and 10 or 11 rays; their caudal fin is forked; their dorsal fin is low with 12 or 13 spines and 12 rays; and their pectoral fins are long, reach the anus, and have 14 rays. They are covered with scales.

The Pluma Porgy is a bottom dweller that is found within rocky areas and reefs, over flat bottoms, and within seagrass beds at depths up to 85 m (280 feet). Younger fish are found in shallower waters than adults. They reach a maximum of 37 cm (15 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 0.45 kg (1 lb 0 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Key Largo, Florida, January 2004. They consume brittle stars, crabs, hermit crabs, mollusks, and sea worms. They are protogynous hermaphrodites with all fish starting out as females and changing to males at midlife. Each female releases thousands of eggs each year, which are fertilized externally by males and then become pelagic. The Pluma Porgy is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Pluma Porgy is a resident of Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean being found throughout the Gulf of Mexico; they are absent from along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean.

The Pluma Porgy is very similar in shape to several other porgies found in the Atlantic including the Campeche, Jolthead, Knobbed, Littlehead, Saucereye, Sheepshead, and Whitebone Porgies, however it is easily identified by the bright blue stripe and small orange spot on top of the base of its pectoral fin. It is most similar to the Jolthead Porgy, Calamus bajonado (15 pectoral fin rays

From a conservation perspective the Pluma Porgy is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are considered to be an excellent food fish and are targeted by both commercial and recreational fishermen utilizing hook and line, longlines, bottom trawls and fish traps. They are known to contain ciguatoxin. They are unregulated in most parts of their range (except for coastal waters of the southeast United States) and commercial landings have declined significantly in the last 10 years. They are subject to habitat destruction and overfishing in some parts of their range.