Pilot Fish

Interesting Info

• The Pilot Fish is world-famous for swimming alongside sharks, rays, and even ships—earning its name as the ocean’s “co-pilot.”
• It can reach about 70 cm (28 in) long and up to 2 kg (4.5 lb), though most are much smaller.
• Recognisable by 5–7 bold vertical bars running down its silvery body, a pattern that’s even sharper in juveniles.
• In Australia, it is found in all our oceans but especially along tropical and temperate coasts, from northern waters across Queensland, down to New South Wales, and even around Sydney.
• Globally, it ranges throughout tropical and subtropical seas of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and even into the Mediterranean.
• Pilot Fish stick close to sharks, rays, sea turtles, and sometimes drifting debris or jellyfish rafts.
• They feed on scraps from their hosts’ meals, external parasites, and small fishes or plankton in open water.
• Juveniles are often found sheltering under floating seaweed or flotsam until they pair with a larger animal.
• Divers and snorkellers often spot them circling boldly around sharks, giving away the predator’s presence.
• Unlike remoras, Pilot Fish do not attach themselves—they swim freely alongside their hosts.
• They are fast and agile, able to keep pace with powerful oceanic sharks such as the oceanic whitetip.
• Spawning occurs offshore, with eggs released into open water and larvae drifting in plankton before growing into juveniles.
• Their lifespan is thought to be 4–5 years, short compared to many of their shark companions.
• Sailors once believed they guided ships safely across oceans, hence the name “Pilot Fish.”