Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

However, cobia, as an active fish, don't grow well in the confinement of ponds. The cultivation business soon involves the use of ocean cages for large-scale operation producing fish even bigger than salmon. Now we have white-meat cobia commodity grown in warm-water ocean cages just like red-meat salmon grown in such cages but in cold-water.

Cobia is an active game that bites aggressively and fights violently. This fish has been famous as a top trophy for sports fishing. In the annual Sebastian gamefish championship and other such events in Florida, this species has its absolute high visibility and is always proudly displayed by people who caught the fish. They are proud because if you don't have good fishing gears, a nice boat and, most of all, a honed fishing skill, you don't get a cobia. But things may have changed. In next few years, you may walk into a WalMart superstore and buy a piece of well-packed cobia. It may not be as fun as catching a live cobia from the ocean but you get to taste this trophy fish conveniently without a sweat. After all, we don't catch wild animals for food. We buy pork, beef and chicken in the markets. If we love cobia so much, we should eat the ones that we grow for food and leave the wild ones for sports and for them to roam the ocean.

Remarks: spawns in spring and early summer; feeds on crabs, squid, and small fish.

Description: long, slim fish with broad depressed head; lower jaw projects past upper jaw; dark lateral stripe extends through eye to tail; first dorsal fin comprised of 7 to 9 free spines; when young, has conspicuous alternating black and white horizontal stripes.

Common names: cobia, black kingfish, black salmon, cabio, crabeater, cubby yew, kingfish, lemonfish, ling, prodigal son, runner, sergeant fish, sergeantfish, black king fish, cod.

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

Common names: cobia, black kingfish, black salmon, cabio, crabeater, cubby yew, kingfish, lemonfish, ling, prodigal son