Bigeye Scad

Interesting Info

• The Bigeye Scad is a small, shiny schooling fish named for its oversized eyes that help it see in dim coastal waters.
• It can grow up to 70 cm (28 in), but most caught in Australia are much smaller—around 25–30 cm (10–12 in).
• In Australia it is found in north-western Western Australia, across the tropical north, and down the east coast into northern Queensland, with records also from Lord Howe Island.
• Globally it has a wide tropical range, from East Africa and the Red Sea, across India and Southeast Asia, north to southern Japan, and throughout the Pacific Islands to Hawaii and French Polynesia.
• Its body is slender and silvery with a bluish-green back, a small dark spot on the upper gill cover, and a bright yellow tail.
• They form massive schools, sometimes thousands strong, which shift and shimmer like a living cloud of silver.
• Juveniles use shallow lagoons, bays, and estuaries as nurseries, while adults move into deeper coastal and offshore waters.
• Their diet includes zooplankton, tiny crustaceans, and small fish, which they snap up while moving in tight, coordinated schools.
• Spawning takes place offshore, with eggs drifting in the plankton before hatching into larvae that later settle inshore.
• They grow quickly but have a short lifespan of about 3–4 years, which helps them recover rapidly from fishing pressure.
• Divers and snorkellers often see them swirling around reefs, a favourite sight for underwater photographers.