cobia Cobia is a highly valued seafood species – they’re a popular game fish and taste delicious. Most of the cobia you’ll find in the market comes from aquaculture operations. In the wild, cobia are rarely seen in large groups, so only a small amount is wild-caught. Commercial fishermen do not specifically target cobia and only harvest them incidentally when fishing for other species. China is the leading producer of farmed cobia. Other nations are developing technology to produce cobia, so global production of cobia will likely expand in the future. Ocean-cage operations are under way in Panama, the Bahamas, Vietnam, and Central America. In the United States, a freshwater facility in Virginia is producing and marketing farmed cobia, and research efforts are ongoing to enhance commercial aquaculture of cobia and demonstrate its technical and economic feasibility. LOOKING AHEAD Attaining a maximum length of 2 m (78 in) and maximum weight of 78 kg (172 lb), the cobia has an elongated fusiform (spindle-shaped) body and a broad, flattened head. The eyes are small and the lower jaw projects slightly past the upper. Fibrous villiform teeth line the jaws, the tongue, and the roof of the mouth. The body of the fish is smooth with small scales. It is dark brown in color, grading to white on the belly with two darker brown horizontal bands on the flanks. The stripes are more prominent during spawning, when they darken and the background color lightens. The large pectoral fins are normally carried horizontally, perhaps helping the fish attain the profile of a shark. The first dorsal fin has six to 9 independent, short, stout, sharp spines. The family name Rachycentridae, from the Greek words rhachis ("spine") and kentron ("sting"), was inspired by these dorsal spines. The mature cobia has a forked, slightly lunated tail, which is usually dark brown. The fish lacks a swim bladder. The juvenile cobia is patterned with conspicuous bands of black and white and has a rounded tail. The largest cobia taken on rod and reel came from Shark Bay, Australia, and weighed 60 kg (135 lb). Similar species[edit] The cobia resembles its close relatives, the remoras of the family Echeneidae. It lacks the remora's dorsal sucker and has a stouter body. Distribution and habitat[edit] Cobia fingerlings in at the University of Miami (Photo D. Benetti) Female broodstock, about 8 kg, prior to transport to broodstock holding tanks at the University of Miami (photo D. Benetti) Cobia on ice at Open Blue Sea Farms (photo Brian O'Hanlon) The cobia is normally solitary except for annual spawning aggregations, and sometimes it will congregate at reefs, wrecks, harbours, buoys, and other structural oases. It is pelagic, but it may enter estuaries and mangroves in search of prey. It is found in warm-temperate to tropical waters of the West and East Atlantic Ocean, throughout the Caribbean, and in the Indo-Pacific off India, Australia and Japan.[1] It is eurythermal, tolerating a wide range of temperatures, from 1.6 to 32.2°C. It is also euryhaline, living at salinities of 5 to 44.5 ppt.[2] Ecology[edit] The cobia feeds primarily on crabs, squid, and fish. It will follow larger animals such as sharks, turtles, and manta rays to scavenge. It is a very curious fish, showing little fear of boats. The predators of the cobia are not well documented, but the mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) is known to feed on juveniles and the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) eats the adult. The cobia is frequently parasitized by nematodes, trematodes, cestodes, copepods, and acanthocephalans. Life history[edit] The cobia is a pelagic spawner, releasing many tiny (1.2 mm), buoyant eggs into the water, where they become part of the plankton. The eggs float freely with the currents until hatching. The larvae are also planktonic, being more or less helpless during their first week until the eyes and mouths develop. The male matures at two years and the female at three years. Both sexes lead moderately long lives of 15 years or more. Breeding activity takes place diurnally from April to September in large offshore congregations, where the female is capable of spawning up to 30 times during the season.[3] Migration[edit] The cobia makes seasonal migrations. It winters in the Gulf of Mexico, then moves north as far as Maryland for the summer, passing Florida around March. Human uses[edit] The cobia is sold commercially and commands a relatively high price for its firm texture and excellent flavor. However, no designated wild fishery exists because it is a solitary species. It has been farmed in aquaculture. The flesh is usually sold fresh. It is typically served in the form of grilled or poached fillets. Chefs Jamie Oliver and Mario Batali each cooked several dishes made with cobia in the "Battle Cobia" episode of the Food Network program Iron Chef America, which first aired in January, 2008. Thomas Keller's restaurant, The French Laundry, has offered cobia on i