Golden Trevally - Relationship To Humans

Relationship To Humans

The golden trevally has long been used as a food fish by humans, with archeological sites in the United Arab Emirates yielding the remains of this species dating back to prehistory. The species is still fished for using many traditional methods in the Pacific Islands, where it is netted and speared when it moves to shallower waters. On a larger commercial scale, the species is often caught using gill nets and other artisinal fish trapping methods. The FAO catch records for golden trevally indicate it forms a regular part of the fisheries of the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain and to a much lesser extent in Australia and Singapore. Records in Western Australia indicate commercial fisheries took 3.3 t of golden trevally in 2010, while the catch in Queensland has fluctuated between 0.6 and 5.9 t from 1988-2005. Between 2000 and 2010 the worldwide catch recorded by the FAO varied from 1187 t to 3475 t. The golden trevally is also farmed in cage aquaculture by Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia, with spawning demonstrated in captivity in Japan.

The golden trevally is commonly targeted by both anglers and spearfishermen, and is considered to be a gamefish. Golden trevally will take a variety of baits and lures and may be caught from both the shore and boats, making it a highly accessible species. Baits commonly employed for golden trevally include prawns and a variety of small fish or cut baits. The fish are known to follow a burley stream right up to the back of a boat, allowing for easy capture on unweighted baits. A variety of lures may be employed when targeting the species including jigs, poppers, spoons, slices and minnows, with large minnows trolled around reefs often accounting for larger specimens. The use of saltwater fly fishing to specifically target golden trevally has developed in recent years, especially over shallow sandy flats. In these cases, a sinking line and leader is employed in order to not spook the fish in these shallow waters. Once hooked, golden trevally are known for fast runs and hard fights, especially when reef or other stuctrure is present. Golden trevally are considered one of the best members of the trevally family for eating, with bleeding recommended. The fish has slightly translucent dark pink flesh while fresh, becoming white and juicy during cooking, although has a tendency to become dry, flaky and fibrous. A rich tangy fish flavour is noted.

Juvenile golden trevally are often used in marine aquaria due to their vivid yellow colour and black banding, with larger individuals also kept in larger tanks. The development of laboratory culturing specifically for the aquarium trade has been achieved in Singapore.