Records of Wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri (Scombridae), from California

The summers of 2014 and 2015 generated many tales of warm-water fishes being caught in the local southern California sport fishery, including Dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus), Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans), Shortbill Spearfish (Tetrapturus angustirostris), Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares), and Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) among other tropical species. The news media (both print and television), sport fishing reports, and photographic records of Wahoo caught off California were numerous. For example, Phil Friedman (PFORadio.com) reported Wahoo being caught at 14-Mile Bank, off Orange County (33◦23.92′N, 118◦00.20′W) on October 4, 2015. Alex Dobuzinskis (Reuters, November 13, 2015) reported that in 2015 there were 256 catches of Wahoo by party boats from Southern California according to Chad Woods of the Sportfishingreport.com. Currently, Kells, Rocha, and Allen (2016) list the range as “recently recorded from Newport Beach and San Diego, CA. Historically south of the U.S.-Mexican border to Peru, including southern Gulf of California and Galápagos Islands.” There have been unsubstantiated reports from previous years. Pete Thomas writes of a Wahoo being snagged in Alamitos Bay in 20101, but, it may have been transported there by longrange fishing vessel and released. In the period of 1997-99 while compiling records of tropical fishes occurring off California during the 1997-1998 El Niño event, Lea and Rosenblatt (2000) received several reports of Wahoo being caught off southern California. However, without photo documentation or a substantiating specimen, these reports were not included. A search of all the museum online databases revealed no preserved museum specimens from north of the United States – Mexico boundary. There is one LACM specimen (37950-1) from the San Pedro Fish Market, California, recorded in 1966 (a year of normal sea surface temperature) but with no specific locality data. This specimen could have reached the market from anywhere in the eastern tropical Pacific. To date, there have been no museum specimens preserved from California waters, this being the first. The first Wahoo documented from California was caught on August 30, 2014 and weighed in at the Balboa Angling Club in Newport Beach (Western Outdoor News, Sept. 5, 2014). The fish was caught by Eric Kim about 32 km (20 mi.) off Newport near the 267 spot (approx. 33◦18′N, 117◦50′W). It measured 152.4 cm (60 in.) in length and weighed 22.7 kg (50.1 lbs.). Following this catch there were at least eight additional Wahoo landed in September. These came from three areas: off San Diego (9 Mile Bank and Hidden Bank), San Clemente Island, and the waters outside Dana Point. Weights for these fish were from 15.9 to 21.5 kg (35 to 47.3 lbs.). In late October, a 38.2 kg (84.3 lbs.) fish was caught out of Dana Point Harbor; the water was 22.7◦ C (72.8◦ F)2. In October there were several reports of Wahoo, in the 18-22 kg (40-48 lbs.) range that were landed by spear fishermen3.