Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus, Juvenile. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, October 2024. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus, Juveniles. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus, Juvenile. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2010. Length: 30 cm (12 inches).

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus, Juvenile. Fish caught from shore at Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, December 2019. Length: 46 cm (18 inches). Catch courtesy of Ian Franck, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus. Fish caught from within Puerto Escondido, Baja California Sur, February 2024. Length: 58 cm (23 inches).

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus. Fish caught off the beach  at Punta Lobo, Baja California Sur, April 2014. Length: 60 cm (2 feet 0 inches).

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus. Very nice head-shot of a fish caught from shore at Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, January 2017. Catch and photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, December 2017. Length: 78 cm (2 feet 7 inches). Weight: 8.9 kg (20 lbs).

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, December 2017. Length: 81 cm (2 feet 8 inches). Weight: 12.7 kg (28 lbs). Catch and identification courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Photograph courtesy of Derrick Mizuyabu, Steveston, British Columbia, Canada.

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, December 2017. Length: 84 cm (2 feet 9 inches). Weight: 14.5 kg (32 lbs). Catch courtesy of Derrick Mizuyabu, Steveston, British Columbia, Canada. Photograph and identification courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

The Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus, is a member of the Jack or Carangidae Family, and is known in Mexico as jurel dorado. Globally, this is only species in the genus Gnathanodon, and it is one of the few species found in both the Atlantic (although just in the locks of the Panama Canal) and the Pacific Oceans.

The Golden Trevally has a deep moderately compressed body with a depth that is 35% to 44% of standard length. Juveniles have wider bodies than adults and are silvery with 7 to 11 black bars on their body. Adults are silvery-gray with yellowish bellies, scattered black spots on their sides, yellow fins, and a black tip on their caudal fin. Their mouth is relatively large and ends at eye level. They have fat fleshy lips and no teeth. Their anal fin has 2 isolated spines followed by 1 spine and 15 to 17 rays; their caudal fin has a slender base, is deeply forked and has a distinguishing keel; their first dorsal fin has 7 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 18 to 20 rays; and, their pectoral fins are longer than their head. Their anal and dorsal fins are similar in length. They have 19 to 22 gill rakers on the upper arch and 27 to 30 gill rakers on the lower arch. Their lateral line is moderately arched with 17 to 26 scutes. Their body is covered with scales.

The Golden Trevally is a schooling demersal species that is found over soft bottoms, within deep water lagoons, and around seaweed covered reefs at depths up to 40 m (130 feet). They reach a maximum of 1.2 m (3 feet 11 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record for length stood at 93 cm (3 feet 1 inches) with the fish caught from coastal waters off Australia in December 2014. The corresponding world record for weight stood at 17.45 kg (38 lbs 8 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Australia in October 2016. Juveniles act as “pilots” for sharks and other large fish and reside among jellyfish tentacles seeking protection from predators. They feed on crustaceans, small fish, and squid. Reproduction occurs via the release of pelagic eggs during the summer months. The Golden Trevally 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 Golden Trevally is a wide-ranging species found in the Atlantic (having transited from the Pacific via the Panama Canal), the Pacific, and the Indian Oceans. In Mexican waters they are a resident of the Pacific but have a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja, in the southern half of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

The Golden Trevally can be confused with the Black Jack, Caranx lugubris (black scutes; no bars on sides), the Bluefin Trevally, Caranx melampygus (blue fins; no bars on sides), the Cocinero, Caranx vinctus (no black spot at pectoral fin base), and the Pacific Crevalle Jack, Caranx caninus (no bars on sides).

From a conservation perspective the Golden Trevally is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are targeted by both commercial and recreational fishermen. Commercially they are caught via gillnets and by spear and marketed fresh and dried-salted. They have also been successfully raised via in marine fish farms in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan and have been spawned in captivity in Japan. They are considered to be an excellent food fish and will show up on occasion in the major market in the greater Los Cabos area of Baja California Sur. They are also a component of the aquarium trade and can be purchased on-line.