![]() ![]() Regarding the Atlantic ocean which is where the Main Attraction team fishes for Mahi, they can travel as far North as Massachusetts before heading back down to the Florida Keys. Dolphinfish that have been tagged have been tracked moving as much as 20+ miles per day over prolonged periods. Mahi like to travel, they are constantly on the move, feeding along the way often on terrified baitfish hiding under patches of floating weeds, tree limbs, and manmade objects. Mahi are not just food for humans, they are also an important part of the diet of large Tuna, Marlin, Sailfish, Swordfish, and Shark.ĭolphinfish are pelagic fish meaning they do not live on or near the bottom, instead, they live throughout the water column (usually near the surface). If a fisherman finds a school of Mahi that isn’t hungry or willing to feed at all, it often means that school has already been picked over by another boat. Often an entire school of Mahi can be caught by a boat with this technique. When trolling for Mahi in the Florida Keys the first hooked fish is reeled in close to the boat and then left in the water to bring the whole school behind the boat as the anglers cast baited lines at them. Often all it takes is for one Mahi to bite to get the whole school fired up! If the scent of the food doesn’t get them excited, sometimes just twitching the line and adding some movement to the bait will trigger a bite. ![]() On most days Mahi will readily eat cut up pieces of fish, shrimp, or lures presented by anglers. Mahi can consume anywhere from 6%-20% of their body weight in one day! Dolphinfish eat octopus, squid, crustaceans, small fish, and jellyfish. It is this behavior that attracts birds, allowing us to see signs of Mahi from great distances when fishing offshore. They are phenomenal swimmers that can burst at speeds of nearly 60 mph! They love to catch and eat flying fish, even mid-air. In captivity, Dolphinfish have been recorded with growth rates as high as nearly 3 inches per week.ĭolphinfish are considered ocean predators as they eat voraciously and are quite opportunistic feeders. In just 3-4 months a Dolphinfish will grow from tiny larvae to over a foot and a half long and be sexually mature enough to reproduce! A female Mahi which we refer to as a Cow, can spawn 2 or 3 times per year producing anywhere from 100,000 – 1,000,000 eggs each time.ĭolphinfish are also the fastest-growing fish in the ocean, capable of lengths over 4 feet in the first year of life, and over 6 feet in four years. Mahi can survive the pressures of fishing because they are able to reproduce rapidly compared to other species. As a tasty, plentiful, sustainable source of nutritional, low-fat protein that is rich in vitamins and omega-3s, you will find Mahi on dinner tables and restaurant menus around the world. Mahi-Mahi are highly sought after by recreational fishermen for sport, as well as commercial fishermen to sustain their income. The Dolphinfish is special because of its ability as a species to survive immense pressure from fishing industries throughout the world due to its ability to reproduce and grow quickly. Nearly every country in the world has a different name for them, but whatever you call them, these fish have made a profound impact on the lives of millions of humans throughout the globe. Scientists know them as Coryphaena hippurus. In Mexico, they are referred to as Dorado. ![]() We often will use the Hawaiin version of the name around tourists to avoid this confusion, which is Mahi-Mahi. These are fish and not to be confused with “Flipper” which is a mammal that we refer to as porpoise in the Florida keys. In the Florida Keys, we commonly refer to the Dolphinfish as Dolphin. We hope you enjoy it! It’s All In The Name This article is a result of these experiences and some research of publicly available scientific information to corroborate their anecdotal evidence. With decades of experience, our Captains are veritable cornucopias of information on the subject matter. Understanding species desirability as food, spawning behaviors, and lifestyle, helps you make more informed decisions on whether or not to take its life or release it. The fact of the matter is the more you know about the fish you are targeting the better you will be at catching them! Knowledge gained about a fish’s eating habits, migratory patterns, and general tendencies, help you catch them more efficiently. Our past articles often tend to focus on catching fish in the Keys and the techniques we use to catch them but not so much on the species themselves. This is the first installment of a series we plan to write about the many unique species of fish in the Florida Keys. ![]()
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