Pacific Harvestfish, Peprilus medius

Pacific Harvestfish, Peprilus medius. Fish caught via a shrimp trawler from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2018. Length: 22 cm (8.5 inches). Photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Pacific Harvestfish, Peprilus medius. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2017. Length: 26 cm (10 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The Pacific Harvestfish, Peprilus medius, is a member of the Butterfish or Stromateidae Family, and is known in Mexico as palometa. Globally, there are seven species in the genus Peprilus, of which six are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Harvestfish has an elongated oval body that are strongly compressed and relatively deep with a depth that is 48% to 64% of standard length. They are a uniform silvery white color. They have a small oblique mouth that ends before the eyes and a short blunt snout. Their eyes have a fatty ring around them. Their anal and dorsal fins have long bases with long, curved, and pointed front lobes. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 38 to 46 rays; their caudal fin is deeply forked; their dorsal fin has 3 spines and 42 to 48 rays; and their pectoral fins are long and pointed with 22 or 23 rays; they do not have pelvic fins. They have 23 to 27 gill rakers and 33 to 35 vertebrae. Their lateral line is high and follows their upper body profile and they are covered with small scales.

The Pacific Harvestfish is found over sandy bottoms in coastal waters at depths up to 38 m (125 feet). They reach a maximum of 33 cm (13 inches) in length. They feed on benthic mobile invertebrates. Reproduction is oviparous with external fertilization and their eggs and larvae are pelagic. The Pacific Harverstfish 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 Pacific Harvestfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from along the entire west coast of Baja.

The Pacific Harvestfish is most likely confused with the Pacific Pompano, Peprilus simillimus (snout greater in length than eye diameter; anal fin with short front lobe) and the Salema Butterfish, Peprilus snyderi (snout equal in length to eye diameter; anal fin with short front lobe).

From a conservation perspective the Pacific Harvestfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable widely distributed populations. They are abundant in some locations and they are not a targeted species by commercial or recreational fishermen. They are used for human consumption in some parts of Latin America and as bait fish.