Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus

Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus, Juvenile. Fish caught off the beach at Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, November 2017. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches).

Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus. Fish caught off the beach at Twin Dolphins, Baja Cailfornia Sur, February 2003. Length: 36 cm (14 inches).

Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus. Fish caught from shore at Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, January 2018. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch courtesy of Kyle Rousseau, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus. Fish caught from shore at Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, December 2019. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch and photograph of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus. Fish caught from shore at Conception Bay, Baja California Sur, March 2020. Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Barry Mastro, Escondido, California.

Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus. Underwater photograph taken in the greater Cabo San Lucas area, Baja California Sur, November 2017.

Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Gafftopsail Pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus, is a member of the Jack or Carangidae Family, and is known in Mexico as pámpano fino. This is perhaps the most beautiful fish found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean. There are twenty global members of the genus Trachinotus, of which seven are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific Ocean.

The Gafftopsail Pompano has a diamond-shaped strongly compressed body with a depth that is 41% to 45% of standard length. They have an overall silver coloration, four to six yellowish to brown bars on their sides, and yellow fins. They have a bluntly pointed and extendable snout. Their anal fin has 2 standalone spines followed by 1 spine and 18 to 20 rays; their caudal fin has a slender base and is a deeply forked and “V” shape; their dorsal fin has 6 short isolated spines followed by 1 spine and 19 to 21 rays; their pectoral fins are short being less than the head; and, the pelvic fins are short. They have long pointed anal and dorsal fin lobes with anal and dorsal fin bases of equal length. They have 21 to 26 short gill rakers. They do not have finlets or scutes. Their body is covered with scales. Their lateral line is slightly arched over their pectoral fins.

The Gafftopsail Pompano is a coastal pelagic demersal species that is found inshore over sandy bottoms and around rocky offshore islets at depths up to 30 m (100 feet). They reach a maximum length 61 cm (2 feet 0 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 1.7 kg (3 lbs 12 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Buena Vista, Baja California Sur, in April 2006. The Gafftopsail 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 Gafftopsail Pompano is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The Gafftopsail Pompano is easy to identify and cannot be confused with other species found in the Pacific Ocean. They are, however very similar to the Palometa, Trachinotus goodei, found only in the Atlantic, but have slightly more rounded bodies, lighter fins, and shorter narrower caudal fin lobes.

From a conservation perspective the Gafftopsail Pompano is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They can be fairly common in the surf around the south tip of the Baja on a seasonal basis and can be caught from shore with some regularity. They are considered excellent table fare.