Yellow Jack, Carangoides bartholomaei

Yellow Jack, Carangoides bartholomaei, Juvenile. Fish caught off the beach at Playa del Carmen, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, February 2016. Length: 23 cm (9.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Yellow Jack, Carangoides bartholomaei. Fish caught from coastal waters off Boca Raton, Florida, November 2023. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Yellow Jack, Carangoides bartholomaei. Fish caught out from coastal waters off Deerfield Beach, Florida, December 2020. Length: 41 cm (16 inches). Catch, photography and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Yellow Jack, Carangoides bartholomaei. Fish caught out from coastal waters off Scout Key, Florida, January 2013. Length: 51 cm (20 inches). Catch, photography and identification courtesy of Kenneth Tse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Yellow Jack, Carangoides bartholomaei, is a member of the Jack or Carangidae Family, and known in Mexico as cojinuda amarilla. There are twenty-two global members of the genus Carangoides, of which four are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific Ocean.

The Yellow Jack has a moderately deep compressed elongated body which is typical of the genus Caranx. They are pale yellow to greenish-blue dorsally transitioning to silver ventrally. Their fins have a golden-brown tinge. Larger fish are more yellow and have bright yellow fins. Juveniles have 5 vertical bands which fade to blotches and then disappear with maturity. Their head is slightly curved and their eyes have well-developed adipose eyelids. Their mouth is relatively small and does not reach the eyes; it is equipped with narrow bands of villiform teeth on both jaws. Their anal fin has 2 standalone spines followed by 1 spine and 21 to 24 rays; their caudal fin has slender base and is deeply forked; their first dorsal fin has 7 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 25 to 28 rays; and, their pectoral fins are longer than the head. Their anal fin has slightly pronounced lobes and is similar to the second dorsal fin. They have 6 to 9 gill rakers on the upper arch and 18 to 21 gill rakers on the lower arch. Their body is covered with smooth scales. Their lateral line has a slightly extended anterior curve with 22 to 28 scutes.

The Yellow Jack is found on and adjacent to offshore reefs, in the sandy shallows of the Caribbean Islands, and in open waters at depths up to 50 m (165 feet). They reach a maximum of 1.0 m (3 feet 4 inches) in length and 14 kg (36 lbs) in weight. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 10.77 kg (23 lbs 12 oz) with the fish caught from coastal waters off Duck Key, Florida in November 2013. Adults are solitary or found in small groups. They consume small fish including blennies, parrotfish, snappers, and wrasses. In turn they are preyed upon by larger fish and marine mammals; juveniles are preyed upon by sea birds. Reproduction occurs in groups of approximately 300 fish during the winter months. The eggs are pelagic and fertilized externally. Juveniles live near the surface among sargassum weed and jellyfish for protection from predation. The Yellow Jack 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 Yellow Jack is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

The Yellow Jack is fairly similar to five other Jacks: the Bar Jack, Caranx ruber (blue stripe on top of back), the Black Jack, Caranx lugubris (black scutes), the Blue Runner, Caranx crysos (caudal fin with black tips), the Crevalle Jack, Caranx hippos (gill cover with black spot), and the Horse-eye Jack, Caranx latus (prominent black scutes).

From a conservation perspective the Yellow Jack is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are targeted by commercial fishermen being caught by hook and line, seines, and trawls, but nominal levels. They are marketed fresh or salted and their meat is considered fair to good but is known to contain ciguatoxin significantly reducing their importance as a food fish.  They are caught by recreational anglers also at nominal levels.