Silver Porgy, Diplodus argenteus

Silver Porgy, Diplodus argenteus, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Lauderdale-by-the Sea, Florida, April 2020. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Silver Porgy, Diplodus argenteus. Fish caught off the Skyway Pier, St. Petersburg, Florida, February 2016. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Silver Porgy, Diplodus argenteus. Fish caught off the Anglin’s Pier, Lauderdale-by the Sea, Florida, March 2016. Length: 23 cm (9.1 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Silver Porgy, Diplodus argenteus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, December 2013. Length: 23 cm (9.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Silver Porgy, Diplodus argenteus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Lauderdale-by-the Sea, Florida, April 2020. Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

The Silver Porgy, Diplodus argenteus, is a member of the Porgy or Sparidae Family, that is also known as the South American Silver Porgy and in Mexico as pluma plateada. Globally, there are fourteen species in the genus Diplodus, of which two are found in Mexican waters, both in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Silver Porgy is characterized by their “porgy-like” laterally compressed deep oval body which have a depth that is 44% to 46% of standard length. They range in color from silvery to golden-silvery overall with a conspicuous black spot that is larger than the eyes on the upper half of their caudal fin base. Juveniles have 8 or 9 faint dark bars on their sides. Their anal fin is black; their caudal and dorsal fins are yellow-brown to black; their pectoral fins are yellow; and their pelvic fins are transparent. Their gill cover margin and gill membranes are black. They have a small deep head, a pointed snout, and a small mouth that opens at the front and reaches the front edge of the eyes. They have 2 rows of teeth in the front and 3 rows on the sides. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 12 to 14 rays and a short base; their caudal fin is forked; their dorsal fin has 12 spines and 13 to 14 rays and is low; and, their pectoral fins are long reaching past the anal fin origin. They have 17 to 20 gill rakers. Their body is covered with scales. A key to the identification is that they longest dorsal spine is 48% of the head length.

The Silver Porgy is a common coastal species and abundant through most of their range. They are found in clean turbulent waters along open rocky coasts and coral areas in the surf zone at depths up to 20 m (50 feet). They reach a maximum of 38 cm (15 inches) in length and 2.5 kg (5 lb 8 oz) in weight. They are a demersal species that feed in groups primarily on invertebrates including barnacles, crabs, mollusks, polychaetes, sea stars, and sea urchins. They are protogynous hermaphrodites with all fish starting out as females and transitioning to males at midlife. Each female releases thousands of eggs which are fertilized externally by males and become pelagic. They are slow growing with life-spans of up to seventeen years. The Silver Porgy 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 Silver Porgy is a resident of Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean being found throughout the Gulf of Mexico; they are absent from of along the east coast of the Yucatán in the Caribbean.

The Silver Porgy can be easily confused with the Spottail Pinfish, Diplodus holbrookii (longest dorsal spine is 48% of head length; tail spot extending well past lateral line).

From a conservation perspective the Silver Porgy is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are considered to be an excellent food fish and are targeted by both commercial and recreational fishermen utilizing hook and line, longlines, bottom trawls and fish traps. They are unregulated in most parts of their range (except for coastal waters of the southeast United States) and commercial landings have declined significantly in the last ten years. They are subject to habitat destruction and overfishing in some parts of their range.