Blue Runner - Relationship To Humans

Relationship To Humans

The blue runner is a highly important species to commercial fisheries throughout parts of its range. Due to its abundance, it may be one of the primary species in a fishery. The availability of fisheries statistics for the species is variable throughout its range, with the Americas having separate statistics kept for the species, while in Africa and Europe it is lumped in with other carangids in statistics. In the Americas, recent catch data suggests an increased amount of the species is being taken (or reported), with the 2006 and 2007 catch averaging between 6000 and 7000 tonnes, while during the 1980s and 1990s, there was rarely an annual catch greater than 1000 tonnes. Research on the fisheries of local regions has shown how important the fish is to certain fisheries. Artisanal fisheries in Santa Catarina Island have shown blue runner to be third most important and abundant species, making up 5.6% of landings, or 4.38 tonnes. Even subsistence fisheries at the edge of its range in Brazil show a catch of 388 kg in two years from beach seines. Throughout its range the blue runner is commercially taken by haul seines, lampara nets, purse seines, gill nets, and hook and line methods. The fish is sold at market either fresh, dried, smoked or as fishmeal, oil or bait.

Blue runner is also of high importance to recreational fisheries, with anglers often taking the species both for food and to use as bait. The blue runner has a reputation as an excellent gamefish on light tackle, taking both fish baits, as well a variety of lures including hard bodied bibbed lures, spoons, metal jigs and soft plastic jigs. The species is also a target for light tackle saltwater fly fishermen, and can push 6-weight fly tackle to its limits. The blue runner is used extensively as live bait for larger fish including billfish, cobia and amberjack. It is considered to be a fairly low quality table fish, and larger specimens are known to carry the ciguatera toxin in their flesh, with several cases reported from the Virgin Islands.