Blackblotch Pompano, Trachinotus kennedyi
Blackblotch Pompano, Trachinotus kennedyi, Juvenile. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, March 2012. Length: 9.5 cm (3.75 inches).
Blackblotch Pompano, Trachinotus kennedyi. Commercial fish courtesy of Soriana’s Mercado, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, March 2019. Length: 22.5 cm (8.9 inches).
Blackblotch Pompano, Trachinotus kennedyi. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2017. Length: 61 cm (24 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Kenneth Tse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Blackblotch Pompano, Trachinotus kennedyi, is a member of the Jack or Carangidae Family, that is also known as the Silver Popmano and in Mexico as pámpano gitano. There are twenty-six members of the genus Trachinotus, of which seven are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific Ocean.
The Blackblotch Pompano has a very deep compressed round body that has a depth that is 68% to 72% of standard length. They have an overall silver coloration with a golden or bronze tinge. They have a large black blotch at the base of their pectoral fin, after which they are named. Their head is very deep and blunt and their snout is broadly rounded and extendable. Their anal fin has 2 spines followed by 1 spine and 16 to 17 rays with a long base that mirrors the second dorsal fin; their caudal fin has a slender base and is deeply forked with elongated lobes; their first dorsal fin has 6 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 17 to 19 rays; their pectoral fins are shorter than the head; and, their pelvic fins are short. They have 15 to 19 short gill rakers and no finlets or scutes. Their body is covered with oval scales. Their lateral line is slightly arched over the pectoral fin.
The Blackblotch Pompano is a pelagic species found demersal inshore and within estuaries over sandy bottoms at depths up to 72 m (235 feet). They reach a maximum of 90 cm (2 feet 11 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 11.06 kg (24 lbs 6 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, in September 2007. The Blackblotch Pompano 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 Blackblotch Pompano is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but has a limited distribution being found from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, southward along the central and southwest coasts of Baja, in the southern three-fourths of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.
The Blackblotch Pompano can be confused with the Paloma Pompano, Trachinotus paitensis (narrower body; lacks black blotch).
From a conservation perspective the Blackblotch Pompano is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They fished commercially on a limited basis and sold fresh. If available they are considered to be excellent table fare.