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Fish4Life provides everything you need to enjoy seafood responsibly. Explore information and practical tips for safe and sustainable seafood consumption, and help protect marine life by reporting undersized or illegally traded seafood.

Greater amberjack
Seriola dumerili
Μαγιάτικο

Sustainability Status

Highly exploited

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Help us protect our seas by reporting illegal or undersized fish that you see in markets, restaurants or fishing boats
Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation
Think before you eat – This species faces increasing pressures and should only be consumed responsibly

Legal

Minimum Size

–

Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

91 cm

Avoid Consumption Period

April – May

Advice for Consumption

Think before consuming this species, as many of its stocks are overexploited.

Greek legislation does not establish legal minimum size and no closed season, leaving juvenile and spawning fish completely unprotected. Always respect minimum sustainable size limits and do not consume this species during its breeding season.

Choose sustainable seafood!

Archipelagos Tips

Choosing larger, mature fish helps reduce fishing pressure on juvenile individuals.

Common names

FR

Sériole

it

Ricciola

es

Pez de limón

tr

Akya

pt

Charuteiro

nl

Grote geelstaart

de

Große Bernsteinmakrele

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

Bluish grey above, silvery white below with an amber stripe along midside of the body; fins dusky. Second dorsal and anal fins with low anterior lobe. It has a pointed head, relatively small eyes, and a large, terminally located mouth. A dark, diagonal stripe often runs from the snout, along the back to the first dorsal fin.

It looks like Seriola rivoliana (Almaco jack), Seriola fasciata (Lesser amberjack), and Seriola zonata (Banded rudderfish ), distinguishing features include the number of gill rakers and the length of the anal fin base. Seriola dumerili has 11-19 gill rakers, while the others have a higher count.

Did you know?

With a sleek and streamlined body, it can reach speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Carnivorous.
Feeds on fishes and invertebrates.

habitat

Pelagic.
Found in deep seaward reefs and coastal bays.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 190 cm
Max weight: 80.6 kg
Depth range: 1-385 m

breeding & Growth

Gonochoric (seperate sexes). Batch spawner, spawning occurs in the summer.
Growth rate: Slow-moderate (k = 0.227yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 5-7 years
Max reported age: 17 years
Distribution: Circumglobal. Mediterranean, Indo-West Pacific, Micronesia, Western Atlantic, and African Coast.

appearance changes

Juveniles are yellow‑green with a black eye‑to‑dorsal band and five dark vertical bars plus a sixth at the caudal‑peduncle base. With growth, these markings fade and the fish shifts to a bluish‑olive or bluish‑grey back with silvery‑white underparts and an amber side stripe.

Reproductive Cycle

Egg count: 15,000-100,000 eggs
Reproductive frequency: Numerous times throughout the breeding season.
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If you’d like to learn more about the work of the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, please visit our website: https://archipelago.gr/

Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Illegal species – Fishing, selling and consumption of this species is illegal

Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation

Think before you eat – This species faces increasing pressures and should only be consumed responsibly

Bad choice – Consumption of this species is unsustainable

Health concerns –
Can accumulate dangerously high levels of toxic substances harmful to health

Alien / Invasive – This species is not from this region and can have a negative impact on the ecosystem and threaten local biodiversity, so it is sustainable to eat

Aquafarms – You will commonly find this species coming from aquafarms