Wahoo

Scientific name

Acanthocybium solandri

Characteristics

Wahoo are predominantly silver in colour, with 24 or more cobalt blue vertical bars on their sides. The Wahoo is among the fastest fish in the sea and is often caught incidentally while fishing for other pelagic species, such as Mahi-Mahi (dolphin fish) and Narrow-barred Mackerel.

Size

Wahoo grow to a maximum length of 2.1 m and a weight of approximately 67 kg.

Distribution

Wahoo is a tropical species, found from Rottnest Island in WA around the Northern Territory and Queensland, south to Montague Island in NSW. Unlike the Mackerels, Wahoo is a solitary species, with groups of five or more fish rarely found in the one location.

Confusing species

They are similar in appearance to Spotted and Narrow-barred Mackerel. The vertical trailing edge of the tail is different to mackerels, which have a more pronounced fork in their tail.