Fall migration is not just for the birds, bats, and butterflies. Lots of other animals are restless now too.
Visually, we see leaves turning color and flying animals travelling southward. In our land-centric minds, large numbers of people in New York and New Jersey often forget that there is life underwater, numerous species of fish, crabs, and other aquatic species are migrating too.
In ways we can only imagine if we could look under the sea, there is a rush of aquatic creatures: active, antsy, and spasmodic. Internal and external forces pushing these animals to sometimes faraway places to spend the winter.
In late summer and early autumn, countless Bluefish are starting their migration southward. These are not feebleminded fish, their torpedo-shaped bodies are made for motion. They follow water temperatures higher than 55 degrees F. The fish will travel well south of Lower New York Bay for the winter, sometimes as tropical as the coast of Cuba, though most will journey to eastern Florida.
Bluefish are beautifully looking aquatic creatures. Long and lean, blue or black on top and silvery white on the bottom. They have large mouths with prominent razor-sharp teeth, a perfect chopping machine. Their young are called "snappers," because they tend to snap, nip, or bite at your feet or legs while fishing in the water. It's no joke when wading in the water to sometimes find bite marks or blood dripping from your ankles due to hungry young fish.
Partly due to this grit and voraciousness, Bluefish seem particularly loved by local anglers this time of year. It helps too that a person doesn't have to travel far to catch one. Bluefish can be caught from beaches, piers, and party boats drifting inshore and offshore with bunker on hooks. Blues can grow over 3 feet in length and weigh well over 20 pounds.
Anyone, though, can enjoy these fish. You just need to be at the right place at the right time. Head to the edge of a bay beach and be on the lookout for bluefish blitzes - frenzied feedings of these ferocious predators. It can happen at anytime near a beach, totally without warning.
Watch for tiny fish jumping out of the water, it's evidence of a sensational Bluefish feeding binge about to happen. Bluefish hunt in schools and are voracious in feeding. Bluefish will drive their prey into shallow areas to attack near the surface, sometimes an adult Bluefish will leap out of the water to catch a meal.
These surf spectacles are wonderful to watch. Proof there is vigorous life in the water.
The blues will use these feeding frenzies to fuel energy needs for their annual migration southward to warmer waters offshore between Cape Hatteras and Florida. When fish travel long distances, they will burn a lot of energy. There is a basic need for this fish to feed frequently. Bluefish will bite on just about anything including squid, menhaden, butterfish, mullet, bay anchovies, spearing, and anything else they can catch and swallow.
By late October, large Bluefish will begin to withdraw offshore and move south. Inshore estuarine water temperatures will start to become unpleasantly cold reaching below 55 degrees by the end of the month. Too chilly for this eating machine, which is related to jacks and pompanos, species of fish that favor warmer or tropical waters.
Yet, life is not all about eating. Bluefish also need to be aware of their surroundings while swimming offshore in the wild, violent waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In the ocean, Bluefish are no longer top predator. All of sudden they have become prey.
Bigger fish, including Sharks, tunas, sailfish, and marlins are predators on adult Bluefish. They are not only larger, but faster too, with bigger stomachs to fill. So much so that according to NOAA, Bluefish make up a major part of the diet of Shortfin Mako sharks and are also very important in the diets of swordfish. It's not easy for snappers either. Oceanic birds regularly prey on juvenile bluefish.
Still, Bluefish are always on the move and constantly in search of the next meal, oblivious to man-made boundaries or natural places. They prefer to swim in warm water currents following the scent of small fish that has sustained this species without end.
For more information, pictures and year-round sightings of wildlife in or near Sandy Hook Bay and Lower New York Bay, please check out my blog entitled, Nature on the Edge of New York City at http://www.natureontheedgenyc.com
