Chanos chanos, Milkfish : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish, bait

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Chanos chanos (Fabricius, 1775)

Milkfish
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Chanos chanos   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Chanos chanos
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gonorynchiformes (Milkfishes) > Chanidae (Milkfish)
Etymology: Chanos: Greek, chanos, -eos, ous, and chasma, -atos = abyss, mouth opened, inmensity (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 30 m (Ref. 6898), usually ? - 15 m (Ref. 89972). Tropical; 15°C - 43°C (Ref. 43081); 46°N - 52°S, 19°E - 77°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: along continental shelves and around islands, where temperatures are greater than 20°C. Red Sea and South Africa to Hawaii and the Marquesas, north to Japan, south to Victoria, Australia. Eastern Pacific: San Pedro, California to the Galapagos.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 86.1, range 68 - 70 cm
Max length : 180 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710); 124.0 cm SL (female); common length : 100.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9814); max. published weight: 14.0 kg (Ref. 9814); max. reported age: 15 years (Ref. 9814)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-17; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10; Vertebrae: 46. This species is characterized by the following: body elongate and somewhat compressed; mouth small and toothless; single dorsal about mid-level of the body; pectoral fins falcate; caudal fin large and deeply forked; no scutes on belly; branchiostegal rays 4. Colour of the body olive green dorsally; flanks silvery; unpaired fins with dark margins (Ref. 49, 117228).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults are found in offshore marine waters and shallow coastal embayments, but also frequently enter estuaries and occasionally penetrate freshwater streams (Ref. 44894, 52331). They occur in small to large schools near the coasts or around islands where reefs are well developed. Eggs and larvae are pelagic up to 2-3 weeks. Older larvae migrate onshore and settle in coastal wetlands (mangroves, estuaries) during the juvenile stage, or occasionally enter freshwater lakes. Juveniles and sub-adults return to sea where they mature sexually. Mature adults spawn only in fully saline water. Larvae eat zooplankton; juveniles and adults eat cyanobacteria, soft algae, small benthic invertebrates, and even pelagic fish eggs and larvae. Larvae are collected from rivers and are grown in culture ponds into juveniles which are marketed fresh, smoked, canned or frozen. Brood stocks can be raised and spawned in captivity to produce larvae in the hatchery (Ref. 12868). This species can thrive and grow in water as hot as 32° C (Ref. 9987).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Spawns in clear shallow waters above a bottom of sand or coral and at a distance of not more than 30 km from the shore. Females spawn up to 5 million eggs which hatch in about 24 hr. The larvae seek out clear coastal and estuarine waters warmer than 23°C with 10-32 salinity and abundant phytoplankton. Spawning and fertilization take place at night.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Bagarinao, T., 1994. Systematics, distribution, genetics and life history of milkfish, Chanos chanos. Environ. Biol. Fishes 39(1):23-41. (Ref. 9814)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 23 June 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: usually
FAO - Aquaculture: production, species profile; Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 20.7 - 29.2, mean 28.2 °C (based on 4182 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00851 (0.00651 - 0.01113), b=3.06 (2.98 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.6   ±0.18 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=4-8; tmax=15; Fec=200,000).
Prior r = 0.28, 95% CL = 0.16 - 0.49, Based on 3 stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 46.4 [25.2, 89.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.661 [0.361, 1.169] mg/100g; Protein = 19.8 [15.5, 22.5] %; Omega3 = 0.111 [0.053, 0.225] g/100g; Selenium = 87.2 [39.4, 201.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 11.4 [3.5, 34.1] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.39 [0.95, 2.06] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.