Bigeye Trevally

Interesting Info

• The Bigeye Trevally is a sleek, silvery jack famous for forming enormous, swirling schools that divers love to photograph.
• It can grow to about 120 cm (3.9 ft) and weigh up to 18 kg (40 lb), though most individuals are much smaller, around 40–60 cm (1.3–2 ft).
• In Australia it is widespread across the north—from Shark Bay in Western Australia through the Northern Territory to Queensland, and south to Sydney in New South Wales. It is also found around offshore islands such as Lord Howe Island.
• Globally, it has a wide Indo–Pacific range, from East Africa and the Red Sea across Southeast Asia and Japan, through Australia and New Caledonia, and east into the Pacific to Mexico and the Galápagos Islands.
• Bigeye Trevally have deep, oval bodies with large eyes (hence their name) and a silvery sheen, sometimes with faint vertical bars on their sides.
• Juveniles shelter in lagoons, bays, and estuaries, often near floating debris, while adults move offshore to reefs, drop-offs, and deeper coastal waters.
• They feed on small fish, squid, and crustaceans, often hunting together in packs with explosive bursts of speed.
• At night, their schools disperse and individuals hunt more actively in open water.
• They are famous for their “tornado schools,” massive spirals of thousands of fish moving in synchrony—one of the great spectacles of Indo-Pacific reefs.
• They can live for at least 12 years, growing quickly during their first few years to avoid predators.
• Spawning takes place offshore, with eggs drifting in the plankton before larvae settle in shallow coastal nurseries.
• Divers and snorkellers often encounter them in lagoons, reef passes, and outer slopes, where their large reflective eyes are easy to spot at night.