Milkfish, Chanos chanos
Milkfsh, Chanos chanos, Juvenile. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, November 2019. Length: 27 cm (10.6 inches).
Milkfsh, Chanos chanos. Fish caught from shore at Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, January 2017. Length: 51 cm (20 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Milkfsh, Chanos chanos. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, September 2009. Length: 76 cm (30 inches).
Milkfsh, Chanos chanos. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, December 2015. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
The Milkfish, Chanos chanos, is the sole global member of the Milkfish or Chanidae Family, and is known in Mexico as sabalote in Mexico. In the greater Los Cabos area of Baja California Sur this fish is referred to as lizón, which translates into Big Lisa and Big Mullet. The mullets are much smaller in size and easily separated from the Milkfish, two dorsal fins versus one. This species is the only species in the genus Chanos and it is found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The Milkfish has an elongated, fusiform, moderately compressed, and streamlined body. They are olive-green to blue dorsally and transition to silvery ventrally and on their sides. Their anal, caudal, and dorsal fins are yellowish with dark margins. They have a pointed head with large eyes and a small terminal mouth without teeth. Their eyes are covered with an adipose film and they have a small barbel on the tip of their lower jaw. Their anal fin is set well back on the body and has 2 spines and 8 to 10 rays; their caudal fin is large and deeply forked; their single dorsal fin has 2 spines and 13 to 17 rays; and, their pectoral and pelvic fins are small and set well back and low on the body. They have numerous fine gill rakers. Their lateral line is straight with a slight upturn near the head. They are covered with small smooth scales.
The Milkfish is a coastal pelagic schooling species found in large schools from the surface to depths up to 20 m (65 feet). They are a dimorphic species with males reaching a maximum length of 1.80 m (5 feet 11 inches) and 14 kg (31 lbs) in weight; females are smaller and reach a maximum length of 1.24 meters (4 feet 1 inches). As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 19.73 kg (43 lbs 7 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off El Salvador in February 2012. They are almost always found in waters that have temperatures greater than 20oC (68oF). Spawning occurs in coastal waters and smaller fish reside around sandy beaches very close to shore; larger adults are found in deeper waters on the continental shelf. They consume a wide variety of materials including detritus, epiphytes, microbial mats, and zooplankton. They require 5 years to reach sexual maturity. They spawn year-round with each female releasing between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 eggs annually Their eggs and larvae are pelagic. They settle out and mature in estuarine areas and adults move to marine environments. They have low resiliency and long reproductive times. Their lifespan can be up to 14 years.
In Mexican waters the Milkfish is a resident of the Pacific and is found in all coastal waters except they are absent from the northern two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez.
The Milkfish is very similar to the Eastern Pacific Bonefish, Albula esuncula (small mouth not extending to eyes; pelvic fins originating at rear of dorsal fin), the Machete, Elops affinis (long mouth; large eyes; pelvic fins originating before dorsal fin), and the Pacific Shafted Bonefish, Albula pacifica (last dorsal fin ray is prolonged and filamentous; last anal fin ray is long; dorsal fin ray longer than anal fin ray).
From a conservation perspective the Milkfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. Their populations have not been assessed but are believed to be increasing globally. They have been farmed extensively in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan for the last 400 to 600 years and are currently now also farmed in Hawaii. They are an important commercial fish with most fish being farmed. They are a highly valued food fish in Southeast Asia but contain numerous bones. They are currently produced at levels of 750,000 tons annually and valued at $800 million. They are grown in ponds, pens, and cages irrigated with oceanic water. They are the focus of major current on-going research efforts to improve farming systems, breeding, and fry production with new methodology being developed to produce fry in hatcheries. The industry is plagued with oversupply and increasing costs due to new governmental regulations (food quality and safety issues) and restrictions moving efforts to higher value products such as a new genetically developed Golden Milkfish. The Milkfish are exported and can be found in all Asian markets in the United States being sold fresh, whole, deboned, frozen, and processed. They are used on a limited basis as live bait to target tuna. Members of the Chanidae Family date to the Cretaceous Period, 145,500,000 to 65,500,000 years ago.