Description
The Leerfish, also Garrick (Lichia Amia) is a fast swimming predatory species of marine fish native to the Mediterranean and coastal waters of Western Africa with some sightings in the Black Sea, blueish grey in colour and vigorous! Leerfish can attain a size of 180 cm and a maximum mass of 32 kg.
Habitat
Inshore in nature this species is found in surface waters and up to a depth of 50m. They inhabit the coastal wave zone forming small shoals to hunt during the summer and open water in the winter in larger schools.
Feeding
Hunting in waters above reefs and in the open sea aswell as digging the sea floor for invertebrates. Small groups of adult leerfish come near the coast during summer to hunt Mullet or Shad but their favourite prey is by far the Bluefish while juveniles prefer crustaceans
Life Cycle
These fish tend form schools and spend the summer near the coast while in winter they group in much larger numbers and are known to be seasonally migratory. Migrations are cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km. Sexual maturity is reached at a fork length of 80 cm and its an off-coast affair and the eggs and larvae are distributed inshore by currents!
(Chance of Encounter Red=0.8 Yellow=0.2)
